Tattoo in the Sky
by Yemi Hikari
Summary: Black sheep, black sheep, have you any wool... family connections, finding a purpose and growing up, yet also dealing with the pressures of being one of the defenders of the universe simply makes trying to be a normal teen, when one is already not normal all the more hard.
1. Eating Dirt

_Disclaimer – I don't own Voltron: Legendary Defender. This is actually not the fic I actually planned on starting on, but a different idea that got stuck in my head. This is also for prompt 22 on my 2017 prompt list which involves the angst genre. Theories for this fanfic include Shiro and Keith being blood brothers with the same parents, meaning Shiro is also part alien, the character Ryo from the original series being Keith's twin brother, and either the theory of Alteans and Galra being the same species genetically_ _or_ _their mother being an Altean/Galra hybrid, still undecided. This also works with the theory of Keith being on the autism spectrum._

 **Tattoo in the Sky  
** _ **Eating Dirt**_

His purpose was gone.

The adrenaline rushing through his body came to a sudden peak as he twisted his bayard, forming the fiery blade to cut through Zarkon's armor. In turn, it crashed, the reality quickly setting into the black paladin's mind. The vile emperor of the Galra empire was defeated, and Voltron had served its purpose, meaning the paladins were no longer needed. As such, each would continue with their previous lives as if nothing happened.

Except…

Shiro's heart couldn't help but sink into darkness, breaking as his future dreams had. No matter how much he reached for that dream, he couldn't reach it. His arm was broken, his body broken, and now that one singular hope he was holding onto in their fight against Zarkon. What got him through his time as a prisoner was the same reason he'd gone on the Kerberos mission in the first place.

Keith…

As long as Shiro could remember, he'd always been there for the younger teen, at times acting like an older brother, and other time acting like a parent. Going on the Kerberos mission meant having a steady income once he got back, but also having the ability to spend more time with Keith, as his younger brother needed him. Torn away from their mother, their father, not knowing where he stood with the Shirogane family, Shiro ended up being the only stable person in the boy's life.

And yet there were some doubts even regarding their relationship, and these came crashing into bits when Keith found out information regarding their mother. Shiro couldn't say anything, having not said anything before, not wanting to shatter Keith's own reality, and yet his was breaking. His younger brother had grown up, leaving him behind, watching his back as he walked away.

His purpose was gone.

He also didn't know how to be around Keith without breaking anymore.

He wanted to escape from that pain.

There was a flashing of white light, leading to the sensation of falling. Shiro landed somewhere, the impact reminding him when he landed in the black lion injured, and yet he was outside somewhere. Shiro could feel hot sand against his chin and sat up. His entire body riveted in pain from the electric shock Zarkon sent through him. He sat up, his mouth dry as he looked around the desert. There as something familiar about the place he landed. He also felt dizzy.

Smoke appeared in the distance coming towards him at a fast pace, and he found himself ducking behind the rock outcroppings, not sure if the person was friend or foe. His mind was dizzy, to say the least, and his breath came in a ragged manner. His eyes closed, then opened to peek around the rock to see someone pull up on a bike. The person stopped on a bike, and Shiro's breath pulled in tightly his heart fluttering. "Keith!"

The person seemed to hear, and turn towards him. Shiro stepped out from behind the rock, only for his entire body to start tipping forward, losing consciousness from the injuries he felt. The person moved quickly, stepping over to catch him as he fell. The person was definitely around the same size as Keith and had the same hair. However, as his vision blurred as he lost unconsciousness, he couldn't help but note how the person wore different clothing.

 **~V~**

His eyes fluttered open, opening up to see the shack where his father raised Keith. A groan escaped his lips, and soon another person came into view. Their mouth was open, their eyes wide with worry, much, in the same manner, Keith's would be. In fact, this person's hair was similar, and so was their face. "Keith…"

The young man's facial features twisted up into a frown, his voice speaking in irritation. "It's Ryo."

Shiro took a deep breath, trying to sit up. Everyone thought Keith was super serious, but not once you got to know him. Ryo on the other hand never showed any kind of emotion, and yet here he was showing an emotion. The black paladin let out a deep breath. "Oh."

"Nii-san, where's Keith."

The older teen stopped his attempt to sit up, looking at his _other_ brother. His eyes blinked, completely confused. "What?"

"You know, Akira."

"But…" Shiro tried sitting up again, only for Ryo to push on his chest again, the irritation evident on his face. " _Oh yeah. There is an emotion Ryo knows well._ "

"You should be resting."

"You called him Keith, and not Akira. What's up with that?" The black paladin watched Ryo actually startle, and then turn his head away. Shiro started to sit up again, this time managing to do so. "Ryo?" Ryo sighed, moving to sit on the part of the couch Shiro just vacated by sitting up, leaning into the back of the black paladin. The nineteen-year-old caught sight of his armor sitting to the side. "You okay buddy?"

"No. And I should be asking you that question." One of Ryo's hands reached up, grabbing onto the back of Shiro's clothing, pressing his face against the middle of his older brother's back.

A silence remained between the two, and Shiro realized suddenly that he was thirsty, and needing something to drink. "Do you have some water?"

"Oh. Sure." Ryo got up and headed over to a small cooler, bringing back a water. He twisted the top off and handed it to Shiro as the black paladin turned so he was sitting on the couch. "You should really be resting, nii-san."

"You want answers?" This question was met with silence. "Well, I know I want answers. What's this change of attitude towards Keith?"

The sixteen-year-old sat down, his hands resting on his knees. Ryo remained silent.

"Come on. You used to go on, and on about how much of an embarrassment he was, but also how much you hated him. It's an honest question to ask."

"Do you remember…" Ryo took a deep breath. "Do you remember when you told me that one day I'd regret the way I acted towards him? That one day he just might not be there, and I'd realize exactly what I was missing, what was really important?"

"Yeah…"

"It happened." The younger teen continued to look at the ground. One hand reached up to tug his sleeve. "You've always had good advice."

"Someone else told me that recently. When did it hit, though?"

"Where's Keith, nii-san?"

"I don't…"

"Why did you return to Earth, and not him?" Ryo's voice strained. "Why didn't you bring him home with you?"

"Hold on…" Shiro's eyes closed. His hand reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "You know about that? Us leaving Earth that is?"

"How could the Shirogane family not know. Everyone's upset, but most especially grandfather."

"Is that when you realized?"

"Realized what?"

"Ryo, we were just talking about you figuring out what you were missing." Shiro watched Ryo's hand tug at his right sleeve again. "The family crest?"

"I got mine without him." Ryo's hand's dropped, so they now rested palm up on his knees. "We have the same birthday, and yet when I turned sixteen only I got the tattoo. You were supposed to be there, but you were dead. I mean, we assumed you were."

"So, you're upset because neither one of us were there?"

"I honestly couldn't care if you were there or not, but if you had been there, then maybe he would have been there. You're the only one who cared enough."

Shiro tried smiling, despite the fact he felt so empty, and without purpose. "I'm not following."

"You would have cared about him…" Ryo took a deep breath before looking at the ceiling. "I mean, they didn't care. They're sticklers for tradition, yet they couldn't… wouldn't…"

"Make him get the family crest?" Shiro took a deep breath. "I actually wouldn't have made him." The black paladin watched the Keith clone in front of him tense up. Ryo's style of clothing was different than the red paladins. In the amount of time it took Shiro to note this difference, his _other_ brother made up his mind to punch him. Shiro managed to grab his arm in time. "Hey! Stop it! Why is it whenever you do manage to show emotion, it's either annoyance or anger? Nothing else?"

"You don't get it!" Ryo attempted to pull away. "He's just as much a part of this family as you and I are! Why'd he have to be singled out! Why don't you care that they don't treat him like family!"

The black paladin felt his eyes widen, his throat tightening. "Ryo…"

His voice was soft, as he watched the fury in his _other_ brother's eyes. His _other_ brother remained furious despite the careful tone of voice. "I'm not speaking to you!"

Ryo stood up, heading out of the small shack. Shiro leaned over, wondering what he should do now. After a few minutes, he spoke up, speaking to himself. "I do care. I do care that Keith's not allowed to be a part of our lives."


	2. Eating Clouds

**Tattoo in the Sky  
** _ **Eating Clouds**_

A deep breath escaped his lips, his entire body feeling at ease. The red paladin pushed himself up from his bed, sliding into the daily grind of the routine he'd come to follow since Shiro disappeared. Mentally, he thought the ease of mind came from the fact he'd finally managed to get a routine down that he enjoyed, but also that worked for him. A smile flittered across his mouth, as he remembered how hard Shiro worked with him back at Earth to come up with a routine he was comfortable with.

Keith slipped from the room, heading to the nearby bathroom to begin his morning routine. He started up the shower, washing away the sweat which had accumulated the night before. A humming sound escaped his lips as he stood in the shower.

"Well, you're in a good mood today."

The red paladin startled, turning to look at the glass which steamed over. He felt his throat strain, his cheeks turning red. "Allura!" His hand reached out to turn off the water, before sliding the door open to glare at the female. "What are you doing?"

"I brought you some clean clothes, and I'm going to take yours to the wash."

Keith's dark-blue eyes narrowed, and his hand reached out trying to reach for his clothes that he stacked on the counter, only to find himself unable to reach that far without opening the door father, which in turn would reveal more than he wanted. His lips pushed together, some of the good mood slipping away as he watched Allura filch his clothes. She slipped from the room, and he slammed his fist against the wall.

The soured mood didn't last long, as whatever was bringing him ease came back. A sigh escaped his lip, and he stepped out, grabbing a towel as he did so. His eyes drifted to the clothes she brought and found himself a bit irritated with her choice, but even this didn't bother him for long. He lifted the clothes up, noting the style carefully. The clothes were similar to what Coran wore, except for starters they were red in color. "Well, I guess it's better than running around naked."

A shudder ran down his spine as he imagined Allura seeing that, but brushed it aside. The pants were a comfortable fit and were almost all red except for a white stripe that adorned the outer thigh area, coming across in a v-shape in the front, with a single button to clasp them shut. They fit nicely, but so did the top which was like Coran's, but sleeveless, and a slightly different animation at the front, including thankfully missing the side tails, although the shoulder part remained.

Shrugging his shoulders after getting dressed, he then proceeded to brush his teeth, just as the door opened. Speaking through the suds and brush, Keith spoke up. "What is with people and not knocking when they come into the bathroom?"

"What are you wearing?" Lance folded his arms, his usual morning motif clear to see.

"Why are you up so early?" The red paladin spits into the sink. "And Allura stole my clothes."

"Allura stole your clothes?" One of the blue paladin's eyebrows darted up.

"And?"

"You're not bothered by that?'

Keith wiped his mouth, before turning to look at Lance. "Kind of. It is annoying."

"Then tell her off." Lance's foot started to tap, and yet Keith remained silent. He simply stared at his fellow paladin, trying to comprehend what Lance was getting at. The blue paladin finally sighed. "You actually don't get what I am getting at, do you? And do you really brush your teeth before you eat in the morning?"

"Don't you?"

"No, I don't."

"Well, my mouth feels nasty in the morning."

"I really didn't need to know that." Lance let out a sigh, before unwrapping the towel around his head and proceeding to remove the facial cream from his face.

"How can you stand to wear that stuff?" Keith proceeded to wash his hands, something he always did before leaving the bathroom. He didn't notice the smirk appear on the blue paladin's face, or the other teen reaching for his supply of face cream. He did, however, feel Lance smear some on his face.

At first, he simply felt something slimy being dragged across his cheek. His eyes darted up to see what it was, the dark-blue orbs widening at the sudden intrusion into his personal space. The next thing he knew, his entire body was lurching away from the offending sensation, slamming into the panes of the shower as he did so. "What the quiznack!"

Lance walked over still wearing his pajamas as Keith shrunk to the ground, his entire body trembling. The blue paladin's fingers reached out, wiping some more of the weird stuff onto Keith's nose. "It's really not that bad."

"Not that bad! It feels disgusting! How do I get it off!"

"Are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious!"

Lance sighed, before standing up. He ran the sink, before coming back with a damp washcloth. He knelt over and wiped Keith's face. "I really don't get it."

Keith took a deep breath, glad that the offending stuff was removed from his face. "Get what?"

"How you can act so super cool and mature one minute, and then like a little kid the next. It annoys me."

"I stopped caring what other people think a long time ago."

"Liar." Lance pulled away, heading over to the sink.

"What do you mean?" Keith started to stand up. He caught the look in Lance's eye and froze. "What?"

"Are you going to try reaching Shiro again?"

The red paladin took a deep breath, not liking the fact Lance managed to change the subject and avoid telling him why he thought people cared. "That's really none of your business."

"It's been a month since he disappeared Keith. He's dead. When are you going to accept that fact?"

"He's not…"

"You're the leader of Voltron now. Need I remind you of the fact you now pilot the black lion, and Allura and Kolivan take turns piloting the red one? You need to become the black paladin, Keith." Lance turned to him, a half smile on his face. "I know you say you don't care what other people think, but I doubt Shiro would like to find out you're doing this. I mean, if he were alive, he wouldn't like to think that you're fixated on finding him."

"He's alive, and he wouldn't…" Keith paused, setting down his toothbrush. "No. He would want me to stop looking for him."

"And despite the fact, you say you don't care what others thing, you do care what Shiro thinks… I mean, thought. He wouldn't want you doing this."

The red paladin thought over what Lance said carefully, standing up as he did. He brushed off his pants. "You're right. He wouldn't want me trying to find him. There's not a self-centered bone in his body, so someone else has to."

"That…" Lance glared at Keith. "You look ridiculous, you know."

The red paladin stood there. "So do you."

"Um, no. Me standing here in my pajamas is not the same as you wearing that outfit. You really are clueless, aren't you?"

"It's not as if I can wear my clothes while Allura's washing them."

"Yeah, you really are clueless. And I'm jealous."

"Why? She walked in on my while I was showering, and took my clothes without me saying it was okay." Keith watched Lance simply stare. "Let me guess. What I said warranted another comment regarding how clueless I am?"

"Yup. I don't get how you can be that way."

"That's alright. I don't know either. I need to get going." Keith tried walking past Lance, only for the blue paladin to grab his arm.

"In other words, you're going to go and meditate in the black lion after you finish your training with Kolivan again?"

"Nope." The red paladin felt Lance let go of his arm, and he started out the door. "I'm actually going now."

"Hold on!" Lance started to follow after him, his entire body tensing up. He followed after Keith. "You've got to stop doing this! You're the only one holding out that Shiro's still alive."

"That's because I know he's alive."

"You _think_ he's alive. There's a difference."

"Yes, there is. I don't _think_ he's alive. I _know_ he's alive. Plus, both Red and Black believe me." Keith slipped away then, leaving Lance flummoxed enough for him to slip into the hanger for the black lion. The red paladin looked up at the robotic beast, before stepping over as the gaping mouth opened up for him. He stepped into the cockpit, slipping into the large seat, closing his eyes.

He'd found comfort in sitting there, the place being the last connection with Shiro he could hold onto. He slowly sunk down into the seat as if he were a small child again getting a ride from Shiro, with arms wrapping around keeping him safe. "Lance would probably make fun of me for remembering how safe that felt, and that this feels the same. Particularly since…"

His thoughts of feeling safe with the older teen of whom was like a brother to him flickered briefly to the mother he never knew, and the fact he couldn't see himself being comfortable with her touch like he was Shiro. Keith's head tilted to the side as he remembered how much work Shiro went to, to get him comfortable with being touched, while his father simply let him be.

"It's wrong…" A deep sigh escaped his lips, and he closed his eyes, focusing on the bond the black lion shared with Shiro. Every single day since he came to terms with piloting the black lion he sought out that bond, hoping to find what amounted to a security blanket of sorts. Sometimes the lion would show him things, but they never had anything to do with Shiro.

Today was one of those days the lion decided to show him something. He found himself flying through space, completely comfortable. The lion stopped, his eyes widening at seeing Earth, his mouth forming a circle. " _What is it you want to show me? I'm not comfortable…_ "

The black lion lurched down, hurtling down to Earth's surface. Keith took a deep breath, pushing his discomfort aside. The lion came to his shack, and somehow he found himself moving in. He took a deep breath, realizing he was seeing things from a very particular person's view.

He felt himself physically leaning over, noticing the mechanical right arm, and felt his elation growing by bounds. He also heard Shiro's voice speaking out loud. "I do care. I do care that Keith's not allowed to be a part of our lives."

" _Shiro!_ " The red paladin called out, only to be pulled away.


	3. Deep Well of Sorrow

**Tattoo in the Sky  
** _ **Deep Well of Sorrow**_

"I do care. I do care that Keith's not allowed to be a part of our lives."

" _Shiro!"_

Shiro's head darted up, his shoulders tensing up as for a brief second his mind connected to that of Keith, in the same manner, he had Zarkon. The emotional feeling resulting from the exchange was, however, much more pleasant. "Keith?"

Then, the feeling was gone as quickly as it came. His mechanical hand reached up to rub his forehead. His stomach grumbled, forcing his eyes to close temporarily in reaction. He stood up, teetering slightly on his feet, only to fall towards the window. Somehow he managed to brace himself, cursing under his breath as his eyes drifted over to the refrigerator, noting the energy bars on top. Shiro swallowed, wondering how he would get over there.

The door opened, and Ryo stepped in, his eyes closed. "I'm sorry for losing my temper." The teen turned then to look at him, taking in the situation carefully. "Nii-san?"

"I was kind of getting hungry."

The sixteen-year-old stepped over, grabbing Shiro's left arm, and helping him sit down. Ryo looked at him, the anger still there despite the apology. Instead of saying something, he headed over to the refrigerator, picking up a couple of granola bars, and a water for himself. He flopped down on the other side of the couch, irritated at his older brother. Ryo shoved his food towards him. "Here."

"Thanks." Shiro opened up the wrapper, biting down on the food and closing his eyes. His mind drifted off to the sensation of sensing Keith in the back of his mind, likely do the black lion. It was pleasant, the feeling, yet the fact the feeling was unpleasant as well. He could tell Keith was happy and safe. On the other hand, there was the sinking feeling of not being needed anymore. Shiro's eyes snapped open, just in time to see Ryo take a bit of his own energy bar. "So…"

"I still don't want to talk to you."

The black paladin took a deep breath, watching as Ryo looked him up and down warily. Shiro attempted to take a drink of water, only to stop when he felt the walls of the shack rumbling. His mechanical hand shot out for the blinds, pulling back the curtain. The young man's entire jaw tightened before his head turned to glare at Ryo. "What did you do?"

Rather dispassionately his _other_ brother lifted up the curtain. "Iverson…"

"In other word's you sold me out."

Shiro could feel a sweat begin to form on his forehead, back of the neck and upper back just between the shoulders. His own anger started to boil over, but then noticed the look of hurt on Ryo's face. "Sell you out?" The teen's voice strained. "I'd never…"

"But you contacted Iverson, letting him know I was here."

"Are you telling me I shouldn't trust Iverson? That I was supposed to take care of your injuries on my own?"

The black paladin took a deep breath, closing his eyes. His left hand reached up to rub his right arm. "They put me into quarantine and sedated me Ryo."

"And you know that's standard procedure. They've got to put you through a complete medical. From what I heard…"

"Forget what you heard! I'm not going nuts!" Shiro's eyes snapped open, watching Ryo's eyes drift to the ground. He felt the panic hit him hard in the chest, but he spoke in a calm manner. "You don't believe me, do you?"

His _other_ brother took a deep breath. "You know how I feel about aliens, Shiro. They're not real."

"Not real? What about mom? If she's not real…"

Ryo's head shot up, his eyes flashing with anger. "So now you're going insane like Keith and dad as well?" A knock came at the door, and the teen twisted his head to look at the door, his entire body tensing up. "Though Keith's a bit understandable, considering…" The teen stood up, before glancing over his shoulder. "I know you hate me for doing this to you Shiro, turning you in, but it's for your own good. If you fight it, you'll just make things worse."

Shiro felt a shudder run down his spine. Keith's self-discovery made his world start to crash enough as it was, but not everything was cascading. He heard Ryo open the door, and knew Iverson was coming into see him. His head hung, feeling so utterly defeated, the first in over a years' time. Despite swearing to never, ever feel that way, he now was."

"Takashi?"

"Sir."

"Are you going to come in willingly, or with a fight?"

"I don't know." Shiro let the energy bar drop from his hand. "I don't know what I think anymore, so I guess I will."

"Good. I brought a jeep to bring you two back into the base. I can send someone out later for your bike Ryo. You two, after all, have an entire year to be catching up with each other."

The black paladin flinched, looking up, panic setting in. "To simple! This is way too simple."

"Calm down soldier. My job right now is to get you properly treated, and back to your family."

"Family…" The empty feeling continued to grow. A sound came from Ryo's mouth, making Shiro turn to look at the boy. One of his eyes darted up when he saw the hurt look, and yet he found himself confused as Ryo wouldn't say anything. Instead, he looked at the ground. The concept of family seemed hard to grasp without Keith being a part of the picture, and a deep breath escaped his lips.

He attempted to stand up, only to topple slightly. Ryo reached out, only for Iverson to clear his throat. "I think I should send for a medical team to come out and retrieve you."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not." Ryo took a deep breath. "Please. I don't want to lose you to nii-san."

"You're talking about Keith."

"Yeah. I am. Please."

Shiro shook his head. "I can't." He stood up, wavering on his feet. "I'll get out to the vehicle on my own two feet."

The black paladin gritted his teeth, concentrating like he did when he escaped the Galra. He managed to make it out the door, to Iverson's vehicle and inside. Ryo climbed in next to him in the back seat, taking a deep breath as Shiro swallowed, attempting to fight back a panic attack. His eyes closed, and yet he heard Ryo's words all too clear.

"Nii-san, are you alright?"

"I _don't_ want to talk to you." His voice was strained, and he sounded much like he did when he released Sendek out into space. The mere idea of ending up in the infirmary made him want to hurl, remembering all too well the memory of being on the operating table, aware of things he shouldn't be aware of. The sweating got a little worse, as Iverson started up the vehicle. Shiro took a deep breath, gripping onto the door handle with one of his hands.

They arrived at the garrison, and he took a deep breath, unsure of what to do next, suddenly thinking compliance was the wrong thing, and yet something was holding him back from completely losing it on Iverson. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ryo, and he swallowed. His _other_ brother looked like Keith, and he remembered how he kept control, to teach Keith control. He took a deep breath, getting out of the vehicle, struggling to stay steady on his feet.

"We need to get you to infirmary now."

Shiro flinched, his dark eyes looking up at Iverson, fear rushing through his body. "No."

"You're in desperate need of a medical, soldier." The commander's voice became concerned.

"I can't." The black paladin felt his voice strain, but his vision blur. He couldn't go into any medical place, but he also couldn't trust Iverson. He couldn't lash out, though, as he wanted to maintain a certain image.

"I was afraid of that."

"What…" Shiro's eyes widened before he felt something prick his neck. The black paladin began to black out.

 **~V~**

His eyes opened up to see a stark white ceiling. A groan escaped his lips, and he tried to sit up, only to find himself bound down to the surface around his chest arms and legs. He turned his head to see an IV dripping down, and his hands began to clench. Shiro's eye opened, turning his head to the right to see his mechanical arm, but also the familiar figure sitting nearby. "Keith, what…"

"Seriously." The person took a deep breath before looking up, his eyes filled with anger. "Why do you always act like you only have one brother?"

"Ryo…" Shiro's voice strained as his mind started to remember what happened. "I'm in the infirmary." He attempted to flex his mechanical arm, only to find this didn't help him escape. His voice filled with panic. "I need to get out of here. I can't be in here." Instead of responding, his _other_ brother stared. "Ryo…"

The brother in question let out a sigh. "Look, nii-san, I don't know what happened to you, what the terrorist group did to you." The younger teen's eyes drifted to Shiro's arm. "They obviously experimented on you."

The black paladin swallowed. "I need to get out of here."

"No, you don't." Ryo stood up, walking over so he leaned over his older brother, grasping his shoulder. "While a lot of your physical injuries have healed, including that monstrosity which has replaced your right arm and they don't know how to remove, you've also got other injuries as well. They said something about muscle spasms, but being super dehydrated. Then there is your mental state."

Shiro swallowed. "And how soon can I get out of here, or are they going to dissect me?"

"I don't know." Ryo went and sat down. He leaned over, his mouth pushing together. "To see you like this…"

"Let me guess? Humiliating?" Shiro watched his other brother's head dart up. He received no answer and instead saw the other teen push his lips together even more. "Isn't that what's important to you? How Keith and I make you look?"

"Where's Keith?" Ryo swallowed, his eyes darting to the ground.

"Why do you care?" Shiro's eyes narrowed before finally closing, wanting to fall asleep so he didn't have to deal with the problem in front of him.

"Is he…" The younger teen swallowed. "You've been torn apart, broken, disfigured. What about him?" Shiro's eyes opened to see Ryo's entire body tremble. "Is he okay? Is he still alive?'

"He's happy," Shiro spoke in a quiet voice.

Ryo's head darted up, his eyes widening. "Wh…"

"If what I sensed…"

"Stop!" The teen covered his ears. "Why? Why are you now doing this too!"

"Ryo…"

"It's been three months since he took off in that rebel ship, and…"

"Three?" Shiro's eyes blinked, taking in what Ryo just said. "I thought we were only gone for two. And it wasn't a rebel ship."

"Stop talking about aliens. If grandfather hears you when he gets here."

The black paladin took a deep breath. "Great. Keith's likely been worried about me this last month, and is coming back to Earth now that he knows where…"

"Stop!" Ryo's voice strained. "This stupid nonsense is why nobody accepts him into the family!"

"Including you, if I remember."

"Just because you wanted to play with his delusions, and have even succumbed to them doesn't mean I'm going to."

Shiro opened his mouth, only for Ryo to interrupt.

"You played along with the delusions, so you don't get what it's like. Like to worry what's going to happen to him, or to worry about him getting so far from reality that he's never, ever going to come back. That he's going to be gone for good."

"I actually…"

"No, you don't!" Ryo's voice strained. "You don't know. Nor do you seem to care."

"Oh yes. I don't care at all about the fact Keith's likely to be returning to Earth soon because I've been gone for a month…"

"Stop!"

"…and I've probably made him worry…"

"Nii-san!"

"…only for grandfather to be showing up."

"That's not the same thing!"

Shiro's eyes closed, hoping to block out the fact he was in the infirmary, biting back the panic attack which wasn't helping him lose his temper with his other brother. "Yes, it is. It isn't as if he's going to stay with a family that doesn't want him, particularly when he's found what he's looking for. He doesn't need you, and he doesn't need me. Do you…"

The chair Ryo sat in slammed into the wall, and Shiro took a deep breath, not liking the panic attack that resulted.


	4. Elation

**Tattoo in the Sky  
** _ **Passage of Time**_

The red paladin's eyes snapped open, his breath drawing in sharp as his entire body trembled with excitement. His dark eyes looked at his hands, turning them so they were palm up, noting how they shook from the excitement he felt. Keith took deep breaths, letting the sensation of the emotions he felt to set in. His mouth twisted into a smile, his body bolting from the pilot seat, his feet pounding on the ground.

The maul of the black lion opened up, allowing him to leave. His small frame almost crashed into Kolivan, but instead Keith's feet quickly reacting to allow him to slide by the older male as he cavorted towards the bridge. The Galra male stood there with his arms crossed, a stern look on his face. "You missed your morning training session young paladin. What exactly was going through…" The man blinked. "What are you wearing?"

"Sorry Kolivan! I've got to speak with Allura." Keith ducked down as Kolivan attempted to stop him from passing, using his speed to orchestrate an escape. The Galra let out a sigh, his hand just missing the chance to grab the red paladin by the back of his clothing. He took a deep breath as the lift took him back up, watching as Kolivan quickly joined him.

"About your studies…"

"Now of all times?" Keith took a deep breath. "Today's the only day I've missed one of your lessons.

"Keep your mind pure."

The red paladin didn't realize what Kolivan said right away, only to startle from his thoughts of finding Shiro. He turned to look at the bigger male, his eyes widening. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Kolivan looked down at him out of the corner of his eye. "The things you tend to be oblivious of are astounding."

Keith took a deep breath, his arms behind his back. "I'm still not following."

"And I'm not sure how to explain."

The red paladin let out a sigh, folding his arms across his chest. A smile spread across his face suddenly, causing Kolivan to let out a sigh. Keith turned to look at the man, his eyebrows shooting up in confusion. He shrugged his shoulders, his mouth twisting into the smile again, which resulted in yet another sigh. The lift arrived at bridge, and Keith twisted around as he stepped off of the lift.

The next thing the young paladin knew, he'd crashed into Allura, causing her to lose her footing. Her hand reached up, latching onto the front of the clothes she provided him, pulling him down with her. A third sigh escaped Kolivan's mouth, and yet Keith remained oblivious to what the Galra male was getting at. Instead, his eyes blinked, taking in what just happened.

He could feel Allura under him, but also how her body tensed up. He felt wiggles in his stomach, but ignored it as he pushed himself up slightly. "Sorry Allura."

He caught sight of her crystal blue eyes, noting the look of irritation on her face. He wondered when she would snap at him, and pushed himself up. Instead, she responded with a sigh. Kolivan reached down, grabbing onto the back of Keith's clothing, lifting him up to his feet. Lance walked over, raising an eyebrow at Allura, holding out a hand to her. "Need a hand princess?"

Instead Allura looked up at Keith, whose eyes blinked. After a few minutes, something clicked, although not completely. He held out his hand, allowing her to take it so he could help her up. When she stood up, she was close to him physically, and yet he didn't mind, which in turn didn't click. "Thanks."

"Hello. I'm standing right here. Are you two really going to ignore me?" Lance's tone of voice tightened.

Keith turned his head to see Lance. "Sorry?"

"You don't even know what you're supposed to be sorry for!" The blue paladin's hands shot out, only for Kolivan to step between the two. "Oh, never mind."

"I see Allura stole your clothes as well." Pidge muttered.

The red paladin turned his head to see Pidge in a dress, in a similar style as Allura's. It was of course green, and seemed aimed at a younger person. The green paladin shrunk down in her seat. "Oh…"

"At least you don't look ridiculous like Keith does." Lance muttered, folding his arms as he sulked. "And can you two just find a room?"

"We are in a room."

Hunk let out a stifled laugh. "Um…"

"What?"

The yellow paladins blinked a couple of times. "Well… wait. Are you feeling okay today?"

Keith's eyes widened. "Why?"

"Why do I ask? You strangely seem, I don't know. Really happy today. A tad hyper even."

"I know where Shiro is."

A silence fell over the room. Keith's dark-blue eyes blinked, his head tilting very slightly to the side. His arms crossed, waiting for someone to respond. Allura simply smiled at him, but everyone else stared at him. Lance finally took a deep breath, reaching out to touch Keith's forehead. The red paladin flinched as he felt Lance's sweaty palm.

"What are you doing?" Keith felt his voice strain, the center of his shoulders tensing up. He batted the other teen's hand away, his smile twisting in a frown.

"I don't know. I just wondered if you had a fever or something."

"I really don't know why you would think that." The red paladin's eyes blinked a couple of times, watching as the others continued to stare. Keith took a deep breath. "Lance…"

"Stop. Stop acting like Shiro's alive."

The smallest of the male paladin felt his spirts drop, taking in what Lance just said, his chest tightening as he tried to swallow. "But…"

"It's been a whole month, yet you keep insisting he's alive."

Keith took a deep breath, his arms folding across his chest. "I _know_ where Shiro is."

Lance took a deep breath, placing his hands on the shoulders of his fellow paladin, shaking him slightly. "Stop it! This isn't funny."

"I never said it was." The red paladin's eyes blinked a couple of times. He took a deep breath. "Shiro's on Earth." His words led to another silence, and finally he took a deep breath. "What?"

"Stop." The young Cuban's eyes began to waver, his mouth twisting into a pout. "Just stop. Do you know what you're doing to the rest of us?"

"Wait." Pidge let out a sigh, sitting up in her chair. "You said Shiro's on Earth, but how do you know that?"

Keith's eyes blinked a couple of times. "Because the Black Lion showed me? How else?"

He watched Lance tense up this time, swallowing, before slowly backing off. The blue paladin took a deep breath, his eyes darting to the ground. Keith swallowed himself, wondering if his fellow paladin felt betrayed. He shook off the sensation, looking to the side. Hunk's exuberant voice broke the tension. "So, Shiro really, really is alive? We can go and get him?"

"I…" The red paladin took a deep breath. He looked at Allura, his eyes widening in hope. "Can we? I mean…"

Pidge pushed up her eyeglasses. "Exactly how is Earth going to react to the idea of Aliens, and first contact?"

"I don't know." Keith took a deep breath, the fingers of his hands pressing into his arms which continued to cross his chest. His lips pushed together.

Allura's mouth twisted into a frown. "What's the matter with making contact with your people? Forming alliances is part of Voltron's job."

"Princess, the only reason we've been staying together is to find Pidge's dad and brother." Lance piped up.

"That's not the only reason." Keith looked at the ground. "We've also been cleaning up the aftermath of defeating Zarkon."

"And a very good job you're doing of it to, I might add." Slav walked by, drinking something from a mug as if nothing series was going on. Everyone stared, wondering how the scientist could be so calm. "Keep up the good work." The creature paused. "Though to be honest, the idea of studying the culture of you Earth beings sounds quite fascinating."

The blue pladin waved his hand, his facial features twisting up in annoyance. "Go away Slav."

"Princess." Coran piped up, having carefully listened to the conversation. "Perhaps maybe it is time to let the paladins go home, but to decide to whether they want to stay or not?"

"It's not that…"

Lance held up his hands, moving his fingers in front of Keith's face in the manner which indicated he wanted the red paladin to shut up. "No. I get the fact you're fine with staying a member of Voltron, but…"

"Yeah, because unlike you I don't have a family." Keith watched the blue paladin's eye twitch, his arms crossing his chest. "That's not what I was talking about. I don't like dealing with the garrison. Shiro's in a place I know. The place I took you guys to. Maybe we could just go down and check things out without anyone on Earth knowing? It might help us figure out what to do."

The red paladin watched Lance's eye twitched again, before he muttered out an indignant reply as he stood with his arms crossed. "Fine."


	5. Darkness Within

**Tattoo in the Sky  
** _ **Darkness Within**_

He felt sick, and not just because of the dehydration and injuries he came into. The black paladin woke up in a medical room, the walls whitewashed with a very, very temperamental younger sibling keeping vigilance. Then came the loud sound as Ryo threw the chair across the room, letting it smash against the wall. A chill ran down his spine and shoulders, his throat tightening.

Shiro's jaw tightened, his entire body tensing up as he held back the sound which threatened to break through, his eyes closing. He tried taking deep breaths, his entire body tensing up and straining against the bonds which tied him down, just as someone came into the room, the sound escaping his mouth as he saw the doctors coming over, placing a sedation syringe to his neck, making it so his entire body relaxed, before his eyes fluttered, his body falling into a deep sleep.

When he awoke, the same white ceiling was above him, making his body tense up again. He saw the IV again, still dripping fluids down, but saw this time an older lady with a familiar face. His eyes narrowed, a deep breath escaping his lips into the oxygen mask now covering his face. " _Obaa-chan._ What…"

He watched the female stand up. She walked over quietly, before touching his cheek with her soft hands. Her thumb drew a line over the scar which ran across his nose, making his dark eyes blink a few times. "Shush. You need to rest."

The black paladin's eyes opened and closed, before turning to look at the other person he knew was in the room. The man's face was stern, his hands on his cane as he sat there in the chair Ryo threw across the room. Shiro opened his mouth, wondering what to say to the man, only to snap his mouth shut. His fingers clenched into the sheets, the only thing he was able to do with how he was strapped down to the medical bed.

" _Keith's going to come for me, but in doing so he's going to deal with him. In fact…_ " Shiro's eyes opened up, turning his head to look at the man. "I don't want to see you."

The black paladin drew in his breath, waiting for the response, dreading how his grandparents would react. Too many emotions washed over him, the anxiety from what the Galra did, but anger as well due to the way the family treated Keith. Nausea simply wouldn't go away. His eyes closed, trying to ignore the fact the head of the Shirogane family was there.

There was no response to what he said, about not wanting to see the man. In fact, the fact he said the words out loud was something he normally wouldn't do. When he had in the past, things always seemed to end up in a worse situation than before. As if on cue, something blocked the light making him open his eyes to see his _other_ brother. "You…"

 **~V~**

The entire world was cold the day of Takashi Shirogane's funeral. A frost covered the early morning ground, crunching under the feet of those paying their respects. Emotionally Ryo felt as numb as the icy ground, watching everyone go through the ritual, but nothing about what went on felt real. Instead, he felt distant, like someone watching everything from outside his own body.

His _aniki_ shouldn't have died so young, and yet he had.

A loud clamor broke the silence, drawing Ryo's attention to an all too familiar face. His lips pushed together, hearing the rest of the Shirogane family whisper to themselves. The young teen honestly couldn't blame them as the person in question was wearing jeans, a black t-shirt and a vibrant red jacket making them stand out like a sore thumb. Also making them stand out was the fact one of the lower ranking family members was pulling them into the room by the arm, while the look on their face made it clear they did not want to be here.

Ryo let out a sigh, turning his head to look at the head of the family. Taking a deep breath, he got up to confront the person, his mouth pressing into a deep frown. He grabbed their free arm, dragging the person into the hallway, before shoving them. "Akira!"

"Keith…"

"What do you think you're doing! This is a funeral! It's Takashi's funeral, so…

"He's not dead."

Ryo's eyes blinked a couple of times as his jaw dropped, his arms crossing. "Are you crazy? No, wait. You believe _your_ mom's an alien, so I know the answer to that one."

The teen found himself looking down slightly at the other teen, making him realize suddenly that the other was actually an inch shorter despite the fact he shouldn't be. The dark-blue pair of eyes which mirrored his own, and yet had the essence of someone about to lose it. The other's mouth also twisted into a frown. "He's not dead. We shouldn't _be_ having a funeral."

"You!" Ryo grasped the front of the other person's t-shirt, pulling up slightly. "This has got to stop! Takashi's dead, and mom's not an alien! You know what everyone else in the family says already because of that!"

"I don't care."

"Well, I do." The teen felt his hand slapped away. "Our mom…"

"Stop."

"No, you stop! These delusions of yours have got to stop. Seeing you like this…"

"Fine." The smaller teen hit his hand away, "I get the picture. I got the fact you don't want me in your life a long time ago."

 **~V~**

Ryo sat up, panting, his hand reaching out. "Wait, that's not…" The sixteen-year-old sat up, his hand dropping down. "… what I meant." The fingers of his other hand went up to pinch the bridge of his nose as he let out a sigh. Letting go of his nose, he looked at the papers on top of the coffee table, his eyes reading over the notepad sitting on the table.

He remembered someone pulling him out of class into the principal's office to talk to the commanding officer.

Unlike a certain an _other_ family member, Ryo tried avoiding trouble. Despite the negative comments floating around due to Takashi's failed mission, he still avoided getting into fights but also refrained from doing anything which would cause him to get on the wrong side of the garrison instructors. Thus, despite the fact everyone said he was being called in for that reason, he knew it wasn't this.

He also, like everyone else, knew that he'd not been selected for a special mission. Even though he'd gone the extra step after Takashi's mission failed, but also a certain _other_ family member washed out, the latest two stains on the Shirogane family name prevented him from receiving such honors. Which meant he was being called to the office for the only other option.

He was receiving some kind of news and very likely bad news.

"Apologies Shirogane, but I've received news that your other brother's disappeared."

Hearing what he'd been fearing, particularly since his sixteenth birthday simply didn't set well. He found himself unable to say anything, and instead, he sat there much, in the same manner, he was now, staring. He wasn't, however, expecting what the man said next.

"Actually, you also need to know that Takashi Shirogane is involved with said disappearance."

Thus, he found himself sitting there, having insisted on transferring from the Japanese garrison to the one his brothers attended, trying to find out more information. Rumor around the school was a strange unidentified object was seen the day, but that three other cadets had also disappeared. Iverson refused to let him know any details, frustrating him, and making him seek solace out at the small shack.

He didn't like what he surmised, or the idea that he'd never see his twin again.

He also didn't like the fact his eldest brother was supposedly involved, with no answers forthcoming. That left him there, in the shack having found the need to get away from the garrison, the nagging feeling not going away. He woke up in the shack, and for some strange reason the inability to stay still led him to take his own bike out, drawn to a certain place. A flash of light made him head in that direction.

He was surprised to see Shiro lying there, one of his arms replaced with a mechanical device, a scar across his bridge and some of his hair turned white. He knew though it was his older brother Takashi, and he took him back to the shack, removing the strange uniform that was on his body. When Shiro awoke, he didn't know what to say, knowing he wanted to know where Keith was.

Answers weren't forthcoming. The older of the siblings simply remained too distant, if not understanding. Worse yet, nothing Takashi said made any sense.

"Ryo."

The sixteen-year-old looked up, letting out a deep breath at seeing the family head. With the family, the head was the head's wife. "Grandfather." His breath came sharp, realizing his mistake in regards to proper etiquette. "I mean…"

"From what I understand, it was you who found Takashi out in the desert. What can you tell me?"

"Tell you?" Ryo shook his head. "I couldn't get anything out of _aniki_ regarding where K… Akira is."

"That's not what I meant."

"I just found him. I took him back to father's old place, then had Iverson pick us up." Ryo's fingers tightened around his pant legs, his eyes averted from the old man's. "What about Akira's coming of age ceremony. I mean, it's not a ceremony where we're considered adults, but…"

"Not now."

"Then when?" Ryo's head shot up. "Is he allowed to have the ceremony, even though…"

"Ryo."

The young man's mouth snapped shut, his jaw setting tightly. He folded his arms across his chest. "Is Akira a part of this family or not?"

"All of the family establishments which can proceed with the ceremony know about him, so if Akira walks in on his own two feet, I can't see why he can't have his coming of age ceremony. I don't, however, see that ever happening."

The sixteen-year-old sat on the bench as the two Shirogane elders headed into Shiro's room in the garrison infirmary. He sat there sulking, before finally deciding to check on his older brother. He leaned over, noting the oxygen mask which now covered his older brothers mouth. "You…"

Ryo swallowed, realizing then and there that Takashi wasn't happy to see him. Of course, Shiro's reaction seemed normal, in a way. The two had always been at odds regarding their other sibling, and now it was coming back to bite him big time.


	6. Not Here

**Tattoo in the Sky  
** _ **Not Here**_

Keith took a deep breath, looking out at Earth from the viewing deck. He stood there alone, observing the planet, swallowing as he did. Despite adamantly insisting they head back home to look for Shiro, the trepidation he felt about going to a place which never felt like home. Instead, he found himself doubting the plan he'd put together. The fact some of the others seemed just as reluctant didn't help.

Allura – there was something which seemed to bother her, yet she didn't voice her concerns at all. Every so often she would look at him with a worried look on her face, not saying what exactly bothered her. He wasn't sure if she was feeling guilty yet again for what she said to him earlier, of if her worries stemmed from some other place, some other thing.

Lance, on the other hand, remained in a rather foul mood the entire trip. The blue paladin hadn't been pleased with the perspective of having Keith as a leader, although he accepted the black lion's choice. Of course, only a few hours passed between the time Keith first suggested they head back to Earth and now, so Lance really had no time to cool his head.

"I'm going with you."

The red paladin startled, turning to look at the person behind him in confusion. He didn't say anything, as Keith wasn't sure how to react towards Lance. "What?"

"You heard me. I'm going with you."

"Except…" Keith didn't know how to put into words the fact Lance disagreed with the idea that Shiro was still around.

"Look, I know we disagree on this whole Shiro business and all, but someone has to go and keep a certain someone objective."

"You mean someone needs to come along and tell me I'm delusional?" Keith's felt his mouth twist into a frown, his arms crossing his chest. Lance was getting closer to something personal, something that bothered him about coming back to Earth. "I told you. I _know_ Shiro is alive."

"And I've got no reason to believe you!"

" _He's my older brother,_ " almost came out of Keith's mouth, and yet he couldn't' say anything. At times that fact didn't seem real, particular with how the Shirogane family rejected him. That _feeling_ was what helped him get rejected in the first place, why he wasn't considered a part of the family. It was a confirmation that he wasn't of their blood line, this strange _thing_ about him. The same didn't apply to Shiro, so he could say something which might not be true, as confusing as it was.

"Look, I'm going with you. If he's not there, you've got to promise me that you're going to stop this whole business of looking for him?"

"I can't."

"Keith…"

"He never gave up on me." The red paladin took a deep breath. "And it's none of your business?"

"None of my business? Do you think Shiro would want to see you like this? Huh?"

"You don't know him. Don't act like you do."

"And you do? I get the fact you were lucky enough to have been one of the blessed cadets in our year to have actually met him, and that's kind of gone to your head…"

"Again, none of your business, and you _don't_ know what you're talking about.

"Fine." Lance sighed. "I'm still going with you, even if you can't make that promise. Are we taking Black or Blue down to the surface?"

"I'm having Pidge drop me off near the shack and come back later to pick me up."

"Oh, come on! I told you I'm going as well. And don't you trust my piloting skills?"

"Um…" Keith paused, taking in what Lance said. "No, I don't trust your piloting skills."

"Hey…" Lance frowned, folding his arms across his chest.

"Not that I don't trust you. Just, not your piloting." The statement was true. "Look. The reason why I'm having Pidge take me – us – down, is because Green has the cloaking technology."

"And why do we need to cloak ourselves? Earth is our home?"

"I don't know. Because maybe we're flying in alien aircraft, but the government may believe we kidnapped Takashi Shirogane, who's considered a hero by a _lot_ of people? Yeah, I can't think of a single reason."

Keith began to walk away, up to the bridge of the castle, shoving his hands into his pockets. He wasn't going to argue with Lance despite the fact he wanted the blue paladin to stay far, far away from his secret, and the pain.

"Fine. I'll go and get my stuff."

The red paladin arrived at the bridge to find Pidge sulking. The green paladin let out a sigh, pushing up her eye glasses as she did so. "So…"

One of Keith's eyebrow's shot up, and he didn't answer at first. One of her eybrow's shot up, and her mouth moved as she wanted to say something specific. "We're just waiting for Lance if you're wondering why I'm not moving to leave yet. He insisted on coming with me, the goal to keep me objective."

"That's not what I was talking about."

"I get it. You're in the same boat as Lance. I can't blame you."

"Not that either." Pidge took a deep breath. "I'm talking about what's the game plan when you and Lance don't show up at the intended drop sight."

Keith's eyes widened. "We'll be fine. Nothing bad is going to happen."

"Something bad _always_ happens when someone says nothing bad is going to happen." Hunk's trembling voice drew Keith to turn his head to look at the yellow paladin. The other teen's worrying honestly made him feel better, as there was something comforting in that normality. A smile slipped across his face, only to falter upon seeing the glare on Pidge's face.

"What?"

"Keith, come here for a sec." The green paladin said, making no indication of what she was up to. Keith complied, not thinking of her as a threat, not because she couldn't be one, but because this wasn't the time for her to _be_ a threat. However, she proved him wrong when she wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him close as he flinched.

"Um…"

"Just don't do anything stupid. Leave the idiot moves to Lance."

"Gotcha." Keith couldn't help but smile, figuring the hug didn't feel so bad, finding himself warming up to the team. That made them finding out even worse, yet he brushed it aside for the sake of the mission.

"Hey, don't I get a hug as well? And what's up with calling me an idiot?"

"Because you are one?" Pidge rolled her eyes. She pulled Lance down, whispering something into his ear.

"Wait… I don't think…"

"It's better when you don't think Lance."

"Seriously!"

Keith let one eyebrow shoot up. "Pidge, stop teasing Lance. It's not nice."

"Don't need your help on that Keith."

The four started down to the hanger, and Keith couldn't help but notice that Allura wasn't there, almost as if that something was still bothering her, the something she couldn't tell him, or just wouldn't tell him. He couldn't focus on that right now, his mind having the habit of focusing on the task, the mission. Not to mention people, the way they acted at times confused him, yet it felt like he was starting to understand a bit.

They headed down, with Hunk going up into the cockpit with them, insisting to see them off as far as the drop point. Lance seemed fine with the situation, as they flew down to Earth's surface using a cloak the planet's tech couldn't trace to land them somewhere in the desert about a mile from the shack. Lance wiped his forehead from the heat. "Seriously. I wish you'd told me that we'd be out in the heat of the desert."

"Why?"

"Because I want some water."

"There might be some water at…" Keith almost called it _his_ place, but in reality, it was his father's. Whatever water was there, it would likely be warm by now, and Lance would complain about that.

"Why would Shiro be at your place? Why did he have clothes at your place as well?"

"None of your business."

"Keith…"

"None of your business," Keith repeated, walking forward. "I suggest you conserve your energy."

"Well, I could have brought water and sunscreen. Do you know what a sunburn does to the skin?"

"It makes it peel."

"Seriously?"

"Could we not talk?" Those words made Lance shut his mouth, and the two continued to walk, though half way there the blue paladin decided to crack something about how the desert durst collecting on his skin was nasty, and the sweat didn't help.

Finally, the shack appeared in the distance. Keith's breath drew tightly, excited to see the place as they approached. He watched one of Lance's eyebrow's shoot up, brushing it away as the blue paladin's usual curiosity. The smile though, that came to his face with the hope of seeing Shiro again fell. Next to his bike was another bike, one he recognized. "Shit…"

"Shit?" Both of Lance's eyebrows shot up. "I don't recognize that bike. It wasn't there before."

"No, it wasn't. And I _do_ recognize that bike." Keith muttered, stepping closer to the door. "To think he's gotten involved."

Before his hand could reach the doorknob, Lance touched his shoulder, forcing the red paladin to turn back to look at his fellow paladin. "Stop."

"Stop what?"

"I get the fact your fixated on the idea Shiro is alive, but this? You're stepping into a mess, aren't you? You know you are, yet you're letting this delusion of yours…"

"I said it was none of your business." Keith took a deep breath, removing a key from his hip pouch, unlocking the door to get inside. He felt an anger boiling deep in his gut as he looked around the place. A couple of water bottles sat on the table, making his jaw tense, his hands gripping together. "How could I not see it?"

"You mean that fact Shiro's not going to be here and that some guy you don't want to be involved with was here instead? The situation's really messed up."

"You don't think I don't know that?" Keith turned, his hand's clenching even tighter.

"Yeah, well Shiro's not here…"

"He was."

"Keith…" Lance took a deep breath, holding out his hands in frustration. "He's not here. Never was. That guy, whoever it is that you don't like, was here. Only him."

"Two water bottles." Keith took a deep breath, watching as Lance folded his arms across his chest in confusion. "There are two water bottles."

"Say what?"

"If there was only one person here, then why are there two water bottles." Keith took a deep breath. "Look around. Who else would have been here?"

"I don't know. I mean, there's obviously some guy you don't like here. It's not…" Lance's words slowed as the red paladin turned away from him. "… a good idea to be here. Hey! Don't turn your back on me."

Instead of answering, Keith stepped further in, looking for something, catching sight of something familiar – black and white – just at the end of the couch. "If Shiro wasn't here…"

"He wasn't."

"Then explain why his paladin armor is." Keith clenched his fists together, his lips pressing together. He watched Lance's face falter, the frustration at the situation wavering, quickly replaced with utter shock.

"What…"

"His paladin armor." The red paladin pointed at the pile laid out neatly.

Lance pushed past Keith, his blue eyes widening as he saw the armor sitting there. His hand went to his mouth, as he tried to control his emotions. "Keith…"

"I told you. This is none of your business."

"None of my business? You just managed to realize Shiro was here, but some guy you've got issues with has him?" Lance spun around, frustrated. "We don't need to be dealing with someone with some kind of vendetta against you!"

"Ryo doesn't have a vendetta against me. Well, maybe, but he wouldn't do anything to Shiro."

"Ryo? Why does that name sound familiar?" Lance held up his hands. "Wait, wait. I don't think I want to know. The better question is, what are we going to do now? Where's Shiro? I mean, where would this Ryo person have taken him?"

Keith thought over what Lance asked carefully, then said. "I think I know."


	7. Hidden Secrets

**Tattoo in the Sky  
** _ **Hidden Secrets**_

The situation was creepy.

Lance remembered teasing Keith about being able to sense the blue lion, even noted the incident when the other teen went to seek the red lion. However, that incident was much different from Keith's random tangent on Shiro being alive, that somehow, he knew whether the other paladin was dead or alive. His fellow paladin's delusion honestly infuriated him, but then again, at times everything infuriated him about Keith.

He went with Keith into the desert due to a sense of duty to the team, getting all sweaty and dusty like he was. As such, he wasn't pleased that some stranger was at Keith's place, nor was he happy that the red paladin wouldn't back down despite the obvious trouble said stranger would cause. Instead, Keith went in. In Lance's opinion, the red paladin was to _fine_ with the situation.

Worse, it was obvious that whoever entered Keith's place was not someone Keith liked in the slightest bit, yet the red paladin freely went in. Lance couldn't help but feel a shudder running down his spine as he realized he really didn't want to get into it with any of the punks that Keith, in his likely colorful past, had a run in with. Today simply wasn't his day as he followed Keith into the small shack, knowing full well what they would find.

Except he didn't know.

That's what made the situation truly creepy.

Keith had been right, about knowing where Shiro was. That creepy intuition of his had kicked in yet again, yet had seemingly gotten them into another bad situation, one they might need the other paladin's help for, and yet Keith seemed to ignore this, saying yet again that this was none of his business. Even Keith's words were problematic.

"Ryo doesn't have a vendetta against me. Well, maybe, but he wouldn't do anything to Shiro."

"Ryo? Why does that name sound familiar?" Lance held up his hands, not liking the lack of sincerity in the words ' _well maybe_ ', as if Keith expected this Ryo person to have some kind of vendetta against him, and that it was more of the red paladin not wanting to say why this Ryo person had a vendetta against him. "Wait, wait. I don't think I want to know. The better question is, what are we going to do now? Where's Shiro? I mean, where would this Ryo person have taken?"

"I think I know."

"You think…" He felt one of his eyebrows shoot up. "Seriously Keith. Give me a bit more than that."

"I can't. And you're not going with me."

"Because it's not my business?" Lance's tone turned to mocking the other paladin, his arms crossed.

"Because it's Shirogane family business."

Where he heard the name came back to him. "Oh shit. Ryo, as in Ryo Shirogane. Right? Shiro's younger brother"

"I told you, it's none of your business?" Keith turned, his anger showing.

"None of my business? Last time I checked, you're not his family either!" Lance couldn't help but feel angry at the red paladin right then. He'd always felt jealous of how close Keith was with the black paladin – so was most of the cadets at the garrison for that matter, but this took the cake. He never figured the favoritism extended to Shiro's own brother, yet that explained the vendetta against Keith that Ryo had.

"You're right." The red paladin's voice strained like it usually did when something upset him greatly. "I'm _not_ a member of the Shirogane Family. I'm Keith _Kogane_. I don't need _you_ of all people to tell me _that_ of all things."

"Yeah. I can tell." Lance shoved his hands into his pocket, watching as Keith stepped out of the shack, the red paladin's temper obviously flaring up, meaning he was yet again not thinking straight. His fellow paladin, of course, mounted his bike, and the blue paladin took a deep breath, stepping after the other paladin. He got behind him on the bike.

" _What_ are you _doing_?" The red paladin completely tensed up.

"You _think_ I'm going to let you go where ever you're going on my own?"

"For starters, yes." Keith's tone of voice made it quite clear he wanted Lance to get off. "Second, I don't appreciate you touching me. I _hate_ being touched."

"Come on! I saw Shiro and you hug. This is…"

"Shiro and Allura are different, so don't you _dare_ say it's the same!"

"I was going to say this is different than a hug." Lance's blue eye's suddenly widened. "Wait. You and Allura hugged? _When_?"

"None of your damn business. How many times do I have to tell you…"

"It's my damn business. I came with you for a reason, remember."

"That…"

Lance held up his fingers, making the motion for Keith to zip it. "Uh. Uh. Going with. You know how I am when I get determined. It's also my job to make sure we _both_ get back to the drop point."

"Shit." The motor to Keith's bike revved up. "Just stay out of my way Lance."

"No promises." Lance piped up, hoping his fellow paladin wouldn't do anything stupid. They drove for a good chunk of time, biting into the time it would take to get back to the drop site until they arrived in a part of the city's suburbs. They pulled up to a house with a gated driveway. "So, what is this place?"

"Shiro's." Keith got out, imputing the code, before pulling the bike into the driveway.

"Why the hell do you know the combination for Shiro's place?"

"Next you're going to ask me why I have a key. Stay out here, out of the way." The red paladin began to dig into one of the pouches on his belt.

"Seriously?" Lance snatched the key away from Keith, holding it so that he couldn't grab the key.

"Give it back!"

"Not until you tell me why you know the combination and have a key to Shiro's place Keith."

The red paladin turned, his mouth creased into a deep frown, but all indications being that he was going to get all emotional on Lance. "Fine. It's Ryo's birthday."

"And how the hell would you know that?" The blue paladin's hands flew out, almost letting go of the key's as he did. His fingers tightened as Keith attempted to grab them from him. "Uh, uh. Still, doesn't explain the keys or anything?"

"It's personal!"

"It involves Shiro!" Lance shook his head, moving to unlock the door now, as the red paladin's started to get the better of him, which meant his fighting ability went down

"Not everything that involves Shiro involves you!" For some strange reason, Keith's voice strained, almost as if he were trying to stop himself from yelling and drawing the unwanted attention of the neighbors, as there was no possible way Keith would actually burst into tears – the other thing Lance remembered that particular strain meaning.

"Yeah, and when will you learn that not everything involving Shiro involves you?" The lock clicked, then the door opened.

"I'm going to be sick."

The sound of Keith's voice at that point as he shoved past Lance was totally unexpected. To be exact, it was filled with panic, something he honestly didn't associate with the red paladin unless one included losing one's temper over something. "Hold on…" The next thing he knew, the sound of retching came from inside, and Lance found himself closing his eyes in disgust. "Seriously."

Stepping inside himself, his first impression was that it was a very nice place. The next thing he noticed was the number of pictures of Keith hanging on the walls. Some were with Shiro, and some were not. Lance shook his head, the relationship between Keith and Shiro now starting to bother him in a different manner. Taking a deep breath, he and seeing that Keith hadn't yet come out of the bathroom, he decided it was time to take his own action rather than contemplating the fact Keith was likely hiding something from him.

"Well, if Shiro's here, and he's not in the living room, so he must be in his room." Instinctively, Lance headed down the hallway, to what he assumed would be Shiro's room. He knocked lightly on the door, hoping that the black paladin would answer, but was met with only silence. Not sure if he needed to go to the next bedroom or if Shiro simply hadn't heard, he cracked open the door, turning on the light.

What he saw wasn't Shiro. However, he found himself quite surprised at what he found. It felt like a rock hit his stomach, as what he saw made him a little more worried, yet made him wonder exactly what it was that Keith didn't want him to find out.


	8. Tattoo in the Sky

**Tattoo in the Sky  
** _ **Closer to Truth**_

In Lance's mind, the situation just became even creepier.

With a click of the switch, light flooded the room. The room contained what looked like a mix between a bed and a sleeping bag low to the ground, but also a desk and a book shelve. A closet was to the opposite side with sliding doors, but above the desk was a cork foam bulletin board above the desk. Posted to the board were cut-out letters spelling out Keith's name, meaning the room belonged to the Red Paladin.

More disconcerting was the childlike appearance of the room. Strange action figures and stuffed animals – some he recognized to be Pokémon – adorned the top of the book shelf, were pushed to the side of the bed like a sleeping bag on the floor, which had obviously been slept in and not made. A few stuffed animals and figures also adorned the desk. Keith seemed to have a penchant for cats when it came to the stuffed animals he collected.

Lance took a deep breath, remembering how insistent Keith was, wanting his fellow paladin to stay out of things. It explained why the red paladin said things were personal, why Keith even said it didn't involve him. In the blue paladin's spinning mind, it explained why his fellow paladin went and got sick in the toilet. Lance's blue eyes closed, not wanting to think that his hero would do something like _that_.

" _Come on Lance. You've got to admit that something didn't feel right, but that's the kind of room that in crime shows is indicative of… that._ "

Opening his eyes back up, Lance let out the deep breath, his finger flicking the light switch off, letting the room cascade into blackness as he tried to brush the thoughts crossing his mind away. However, he knew he needed to talk to Keith about _that_ , yet he knew somehow that his fellow paladin would be closed mouthed about the whole thing. He couldn't blame the red paladin, but also mentally cursed his luck at _being_ the one to deal with the situation, simply because he wanted to play wingman.

" _God forbid I ever have to actually play wingman for him getting a girlfriend. I imagine that wouldn't work out well._ " Lance's eyes blinked, remembering Keith's comment regarding Allura, how her touch was different, like Shiro's. Another shudder ran down his spine, wondering if the red paladin had figured out yet that he had feelings for the Altean princess. " _Just my luck he really does have feelings for her. Am I supposed to feel bad for… never mind._ "

The blue paladin started to turn away from the room, only to find himself slammed into the wall, his arm pinned painfully behind him. "What the hell!"

"Who are you?"

Lance's eyes blinked, turning his head slightly, only to find himself jarred. The voice sounded like Keith, yet something was off.

"I asked who you are."

"Lance. Lance Riera." This time, he managed to turn his head to get a look at the person. To his utter shock, it _was_ Keith. His eyes narrowed, noting that his fellow paladin was no longer wearing his red jacket, possibly due to accidently getting vomit on the stupid thing. His hair was also slightly different, but Lance brushed this off. "You should know that, though."

"What do you mean?"

" _Okay. So Keith's completely, and utterly lost it on me._ " The blue paladin tried again. "You know. We're paladins of Voltron?"

Keith took a deep breath, rolling his eyes in irritation. "What? Some kind of stupid roleplaying game?"

"Role…" Lance felt his temper flare, his throat tighten, irritated that a certain someone had forgotten him _yet_ again. "Seriously Keith, this isn't funny?"

"My name isn't Keith."

" _Okay. He's really lost it._ "

"Where is he?"

Lance's eyes blinked, wincing as he tried to move, not liking the pressure placed on his arm. "Shiro? Your guess is as good as mine."

"I'm not talking about him. The other brother."

"Ryo?" The blue paladin took a deep breath. "Look. I know you've got some kind of weird ass issues with Shiro's brother Keith, but…"

Pain shot through his body as his companion pulled him back, before slamming him into the wall hard. "I've already told you, that _isn't_ my name. That _isn't_ his name."

"Okay. Now you're really talking funny." Lance took a deep breath. "I know coming here upset you, but…"

The sound of the toilet flushing made the blue paladin stopped speaking. Said sound made him realize something, yet the implications weren't quite clicking in his mind yet, as the shock remained prevalent. The person behind him – who Lance figured _wasn't_ Keith took his free hand and pressed it against his neck. " _Who_ the _hell_ broke into Takashi-nii's place with you? Actually, where did you get the key from?"

The blue paladin couldn't remember a time when Keith called Shiro by his first name, so this person definitely wasn't Keith. This was solidified when another Keith like the voice was heard, this time a bit shaky. "Lance, I heard a noise. Did you find Shiro?"

The red paladin walked into sight, his face paler than normal, only for even more color to drain from his face. Lance found himself swallowing. "Keith. Why are there two of you?"

His fellow paladin visibly swallowed, his agitation quite evident. Slowly, Keith nodded his head once, acknowledging the presence of the person currently holding Lance hostage. "Ryo."

Two bright blue eyes blinked. " _Wait. Shiro's brother Ryo looks like Keith? Why would Shiro's brother and Keith look like each other._ " Lance took a deep breath, more pressing concerns on his mind. "Keith, could you possibly get me out of this situation."

"That's not his name," Ryo hissed into Lance's ear, tugging on the blue paladin's arm to make him hurt.

"Wow. You must be really stupid." Lance rolled his eyes despite the look on Keith's face telling him to stop, or even the way the red paladin held up his hand in an attempt to get Lance to stop making things worse. "His name is Keith Kogane. Everyone knows that."

For some reason, Ryo found this funny. "Who is this loser, and where did you find him?"

"Lance is a friend."

"You don't _have_ any friend."

Lance watched Keith lift both hands up, attempting this time to get Ryo to stop. For the first time ever, he saw the red paladin completely nervous, something so unlike the Keith he knew. "I know…" The red paladin took a deep breath. "I know I've had problems making friends in the past."

"Yet you honestly want me to believe you, mister anti-social and lacking in people skills, you want me to believe you actually managed to make a friend?"

"Yes." Keith continued to try and talk Ryo down, not stepping forward as if he didn't know what to do. "Yes, I want you to believe that. We're looking for Shiro."

"Shiro…" Ryo let out a sigh. "Seriously. And no, I don't believe you. I don't believe you've actually made a friend."

"And why's that?" Lance piped up, only to find his face ground into the wall to get him to shut up.

"Why?" A chuckle escaped the Keith look-alike's mouth. "If he really considered you a friend, he would have actually told you the truth, wouldn't he."

"Ryo, stop."

"For example…."

"Please, stop."

Lance looked at Keith, his eyes wondering what kind of secret Keith could be keeping, remembering what he had thought. "I already know."

Keith's face turned green, making Lance figure he'd been right. However, Ryo again laughed. "No, you don't."

"Ryo…" The red paladin took a deep breath.

"If he knew your real name, he wouldn't have insisted on calling you Keith Kogane." This comment made Lance draw his breath in. "And from the sounds of it, he wasn't doing the friend thing and trying to protect you by pretending to know. He actually though knew, which means this idiot thought something else, probably something stupid."

Which meant Lance had thankfully been wrong, possibly, yet there was that nagging feeling, and the fact something was seriously upsetting Keith. He remembered how, when Keith first started mentioning Ryo that he'd thought Ryo had some logical reason for a vendetta against his fellow paladin, but now he felt guilty for thinking that at all. The issue between them, it felt somehow familiar, yet Lance couldn't place it.

"His real name is…"

"Ryo!"

" _Stop._ " Lance wanted to say, but his mind was still wrapping around the fact Keith didn't want him – someone he called a friend – to know his real name. " _Am I actually a friend._ "

"… Akira Shirogane."

The blue paladin's eyes blinked. "Wait."

"Lance, it's not what you think." For some reason, there was a lot of pain on Keith's face.

"You said you weren't part of the Shirogane family."

"I'm not." That pain continued.

"You _are_." Ryo snapped as Lance attempted to digest what he'd just heard. He came to the conclusion that his original conclusion was definitely wrong, but before he could… "Now, I want you to stay out of what's a rather personal matter, so you're going to go nighty night for awhile."

"Ryo!"

"Wait!" Lance stammered out, knowing what would come next.

 _Note – My choice of Riera for Lance's last name actually comes from the Netflix series One Day at a Time (2017) and the head canon I have for a crossover between the two series. *smirks*_


	9. Twisted Anxiety

**Tattoo in the Sky  
** _ **Twisted Anxiety**_

He didn't want them to know.

In some ways, not wanting them to know was unfair to Shiro. The older paladin was the one person who'd never given up on him but had always treated him like family. Hands down Shiro also adored Keith, although the red paladin felt he was undeserving of the affection the black paladin lavished on him. He wasn't even sure if Shiro was his real brother. Even _the_ family felt this way, particularly Ryo.

" _If you really believe that to be true about her, then you're no brother of mine._ "

A lot of what Ryo said to him stuck, but when he tried insisting that Ryo didn't have a vendetta, he couldn't help but feel that was a lie. Memories flicked as he talked to Lance, but the fact his fellow paladin _reminded_ him that he wasn't a Shirogane simply dug into a very old emotional wound that had never truly healed but was still wide open from the Blade of Marmora incident. "You're right. I'm _not_ a member of the Shirogane family. I'm Keith _Kogane_. I don't need _you_ of all people to tell me _that_ of all things."

" _Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any wool?_ "

Or…

" _Me, me, kuroi hitsuji, yomo wa armmasu ka?"_

No, the Shirogane clan was quite good at telling him he wasn't a part of his world. Even when he was no longer a child, that one line from the nursery rhyme would follow him around, and no adult besides Shiro ever put a stop to the mocking line letting him know he was the family's black sheep, one that didn't belong. Ryo never personally sung that line, but he never stopped the other kids, and instead looked away, making it quite clear how ashamed he was to even be associated with Keith.

Keith felt ashamed of himself.

Yet, he also didn't want the others to know. When Lance bugged about the combination, he let it slip that it was Ryo's birthday, even though Shiro always told him. " _Yes. The combination I used is Ryo's birthday, but it's also your birthday Keith. I picked that combination out because of your important to me. I wish you'd understood that better._ "

That, in turn, reminded him of the trip to the Blade of Marmora, where Shiro let it slip he wanted Keith to be a leader if _anything_ happened to him. The black paladin placed so much confidence in him, yet he struggled to believe he could live up to Shiro's expectations. He struggled with his emotions, possibly due to the stupid Galra blood in him.

" _That's just more proof I'm not a Shirogane._ "

Again, he remembered Ryo's words. " _If you really believe that about her, you're no brother of mine._ "

" _How can I not believe that about her, when the proof – it was right there the whole time?_ "

" _Stop being self-centered._ " Lance wasn't the first person to say that to him. Instead, it was Ryo, and he knew when he confronted the fact he was part Galra, that he was being completely self-centered.

" _I didn't think of Shiro's feelings at all. He's always believed I…_ "

Keith was surprised to find the key's snatched from his hand, but registered the fact Lance had said, "and how the hell would you know that?" He tried grabbing them, preventing his fellow paladin from finding out about his greatest life's shame, only for Lance to play keep away. The final straw was "Yeah, and when will you learn that not everything involving Shiro involves you?"

The anxiety which had built up felt ready to explode, his stomach clenching. As Lance turned the key in the lock, he pushed aside his fellow paladin and rushed to the restroom, vomiting into the toilet. A cold sweat managed to break out across his entire body as his stomach emptied into the toilet. The retching lasted for a few minutes, and then he tried to catch his breath, his mind realizing that Lance was likely looking around. After all, Shiro was his hero.

Keith took a deep breath, wondering how to explain things to Lance. If he didn't believe the supposed connection between him and Shiro, how would someone else? His skin felt hot, his mind and body attempting to calm down as he tried being patient with himself, something he should have done sooner. Shiro would freak if he knew the younger paladin had lost it as he had.

Looking down, he didn't like looking at the toilet, for a few minutes leaned back, hoping Lance wouldn't uncharacteristically come and check on him at a moment when he was super vulnerable. He took a few breaths, calming himself down. He heard a thump, and then voices. His body slowly relaxed, the idea of Shiro being there calming him. Pushing himself up from the ground, his finger reached out and flushed the toilet before leaving.

He didn't think anything beyond the fact seeing Shiro again was a pleasant thought. He wasn't yet smiling, but he'd calmed some as he started towards where the sound came from. "Lance, I heard a noise. Did you find Shiro?"

His voice was quiet, calm at that point, but Lance's was not. "Keith. Why are there two of you?"

Keith instantly knew the answer to that without looking. Thinking back, he should have known, as there was _that_ feeling, that feeling he always got in regards to _that_ person. He looked up, looking into the eyes of the last person he wanted to see right then. "Ryo."

His companion's confusion of course grew, his mind obviously trying to work through the situation. "Keith, could you possibly get me out of this situation."

" _Yeah. Get him out of a situation with Ryo. Good luck with that._ " He'd like to say Ryo was unpredictable, yet he knew full well just how agitated the person holding Lance practically hostage got whenever he was involved, but he also knew how dangerous any older member of the Shirogane family could be. Something about what Lance just said then though, Keith could sense really ticked off Ryo off, but he soon found out what.

"That's not his name."

A cold shudder ran down his spine, knowing what Ryo meant. Akira Shirogane – he lost that name ages ago, but it was foreign to him now, a reminder of many things out of his control growing up. " _Me, me, kuroi hitsuji, yomo wa armmasu ka?"_ He felt his heart pound in his chest, wondering how to react, only to realize suddenly he was frozen in place, afraid of what Ryo could do, but also afraid of Lance finding out.

Ryo also may not have sung that line just like the other Shirogane children, but he did know how to dig into the old wounds. "You don't _have_ any friends."

No, unlike Ryo he never got along with anyone but Shiro. He was simply to different, to socially awkward, never understand things the way other people did. Bad enough, Keith wasn't sure if Lance thought of him as a friend, but if the blue paladin found out about that, chances were the answer would be _no_. There was no way Lance would want anything to do with a black sheep.

No matter how he begged though, the dreaded words finally came out.

"Akira Shirogane."

Keith felt his world break apart into a million pieces then and there. Ryo likely took great joy in the misery caused by his actions, but worse yet Lance thought he was lying. "You said you weren't part of the Shirogane family."

All the trust built up between him and the other paladins were now gone. "I'm not."

"You _are_. Now, I want you to stay out of what's a rather personal matter, so you're going to go nighty night for awhile."

The red paladin felt his voice strain, knowing Ryo was only succeeding in making things worse for him. Before Lance could protest, Ryo pressed his fingers to Lance's exposed neck, knocking him out cold. Keith's voice strained even more as _that_ person refused to look him in the eye, and instead at his handywork. "Seriously Ryo!"

Ryo glanced up, Lance's thin frame collapsed into his arms. He lowered Lance to the ground, before turning to talk to Keith direction. "Seriously. All I did was knock him out for a few hours. Good riddance I say."

The red paladin opened his mouth, his throat still straining. He felt his cheeks and neck heat up from the anger he felt, and yet somehow he managed to not yell at Ryo. "Good riddance? I told you Lance is my friend."

"He's _not_ your friend." _He_ decided to look down his nose, irritating Keith. "What's up with you not taking off your shoes before you came in?"

Keith let his hands twist into fists. "I was kind of too busy hurrying to the bathroom to throw up to worry about that."

"What?" The expression on Ryo's face softened.

"You heard me."

Ryo sighed, leaning against the wall. "Seems like we really need to talk."

"And what? Have you lecture me about proper etiquette from a culture that isn't even my own?" Keith's eyes snapped shut, realizing suddenly he said the same thing. It was one of those instinct things. Somehow, he knew when he'd managed to seriously tick Ryo off, much like how he knew that Shiro was still alive. It wasn't something he could explain, particularly since they _weren't_ family.

"Not your flipping culture?" The other stepped towards Keith, making the red paladin take a step back. "It _is_ your culture, you moron! Or have you forgotten?"

"We're not discussing this. We're not having a conversation right now." Keith shook his head, backing away another step, wondering how he would manage to get Lance out of there.

"You're not going to talk to me?"

"Hell no!"

"Do I seriously have to threaten to do something to this idiot over here Akira, because…"

"Wait!" Keith took a deep breath, his hands shooting up. "I'll talk. Just don't do anything. I'll go and take off my shoes. I'll go sit on the couch, and we'll talk. You don't have to do anything… unsavory. Please." In all reality, he was to tired to argue. He spent too much time worrying about his _secret_ coming out, that when it did, all his energy was sapped.

He turned, not wanting to look at Ryo even for the briefest amount of time.


	10. Delusional Aspects

**Tattoo in the Sky  
** _ **Delusional Aspects**_

The shame he felt…

Keith doubted anyone could ever understand how he felt about himself at that very moment, being an utter failure at anything he did, messing up everything he laid hands on. " _It's the stupid Galra in me…_ "

He stood by the entrance, slipping off his boots as his ears didn't hear Ryo moving. He then stepped back into the main living area, refusing to look the other teen in the eye, but glancing quickly into the hall for a brief few seconds to see if Lance was okay. The blue paladin's chest rose and fell, making it look like he was simply sleeping. Ryo was still in the hall, watching him, so he quickly looked down at the floor.

The red paladin sat down on the couch, slouching over. His fingers twisted together, frustration pouring off him. Accepting the truth about being part Galra – that wasn't an issue, is that he'd always suspected something was different about himself, what with the way the Shirogane family shunned him. The problem lay with accepting the fact _the_ family had a reason to shun him, but that his Galra side likely effected a lot of things in his life growing up, like never being able to make friends.

Ryo let out a sigh, then started to move. The sound of Ryo's movement didn't make Keith look up until he heard the other teen moving towards the door. The red paladin glanced up from where he sat in the middle of the couch, his throat tightening. "Wait. You removed Lance's shoes?"

"He shouldn't have been wearing them in the house in the first place. You know that."

Keith's head hung low. "Sorry. I should have told him."

He expected Ryo to say, " _yeah, you should have_ ", but instead the other teen said nothing. Instead, he headed to the kitchen, and a clinking sound could be heard. Keith's eyes narrowed as he continued to look at the ground, confused as to what Ryo could be up to. The muscles between his shoulder blades tensed up, unsure how to react to towards Ryo. Everyone in the Shirogane family were highly trained in martial arts but knew how to kill.

The sound of Shiro's teapot went off, and he heard Ryo pouring something. Keith's mouth frowned, wondering if Ryo was making some sort of tea because they were going to have some kind of conversation. He heard the other teen step over, glancing up to check on Lance again, not wanting to make the wrong move. The cup was set down on the table in front of him. One of Keith's eyebrows shot up. "What is that?"

"Ginger tea."

"Why?"

"You told me you threw up. That should settle your stomach." He felt Ryo sit down, having not bothered to make himself anything. Keith's jaw moved, completely unsure of how to react towards Ryo's highly uncharacteristic behavior. He turned to look at Ryo, confused as to why _he_ was acting so strangely, only to find Ryo reaching out for his face.

Instinct kicked in, and Keith kicked Ryo hard in the gut, backpedaling to the other side of the couch. " _What the quiznack!_ "

Ryo let out a groan, leaning over to clench his stomach. "Seriously?"

"You _tried_ to touch me!"

"You're completely fine with Takashi-nii's touch." Ryo's eyes clamped shut.

"You're _not_ Shiro! You _never_ touch me. _Ever_."

Something about what Keith said made Ryo's eyes snapped open. The other teen observed the red paladin carefully, become more comfortable on the other side of the couch. Keith didn't like how comfortable Ryo was in the given situation, nor how Ryo had more control over his emotions in the given situation. What _he_ said next though… "You're afraid of me."

"I am not!" Keith snapped, only to realize his entire body was trembling from the mere touch.

"You are. You wouldn't have reacted like you did."

"I'm _not_ afraid of you. I _don't_ trust you. I don't trust _anyone_ in the Shirogane family. They're ninjas and trained assassins."

Ryo visibly bristled, his entire body tensing up. " _That_ may be true, that everyone – _including_ yourself – is trained as a ninja, but that's just cruel Akira." Keith opened his mouth. "And _don't_ you _dare_ correct me on that!" These words didn't get Keith to back down, and Ryo glanced over at the cup of tea. "Do you think I poisoned you? Would me drinking first satiate that worry?"

"Gross! I'm not drinking after you!"

Ryo turned back, his expression darkening. "Gross? You drink and eat after Takashi-nii all the time, or at least did!"

"Again, you're not Shiro! Get that through your thick skull of yours!"

"Stop being so damn impossible!" Ryo's hands flew out in frustration to the sides to emphasize the fact the conversation wasn't going well.

"Stop being impossible?" Keith took a deep breath. One of his hands shot out towards the hallway. "You're the one who KOed my friend over there!"

"Friend!" Ryo's voice strained. "Akira! That guy kidnapped you, did he not?"

The red paladin's eyes blinked. "Lance? Kidnap me?"

He couldn't help but start laughing while _he_ looked on rather unamused at the situation. The laughter ended up causing Keith to roll off the couch and land on the floor hard. Ryo finally spoke, his tone of voice making it very clear he was not amused. "Akira, I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you right now, so the laughing is not appreciated."

"Yeah. But Lance kidnapping me?" Keith gasped out his words. "Lance may be Shiro's biggest fanboy, but he certainly wouldn't kidnap me for a few days just to get into Shiro's place. I mean, until today, he didn't know…" The laughter stopped, and the red paladin sat up. "He didn't know I'd ever been to Shiro's place. So yeah, if he didn't know that, he wouldn't have even thought to kidnap me."

"A few days?" Ryo took a deep breath. "It's been three whole months you, idiot! And I come to find out you weren't taken hostage by some rebel forces, but by some punk fanboy of Takashi-nii's that..." _He_ looked away. "I wish you would take this more seriously."

Keith pulled himself up onto the couch, worrying his lip at Ryo's actions. "First, stop acting like you care about me beyond how I'm a major risk to your personal reputation."

"That isn't…"

"It is true, and you know it." Keith found himself looking at the tea. "Second, I wasn't kidnapped, nor do I have any idea how you got that strange idea."

"Oh. Let me guess. You were abducted by aliens – which is so not kidnapping in your mind, but the coolest thing ever, when it really is kidnapping."

The red paladin remained his usual truthful self. "Yes, and no, it wasn't kidnapping."

"I'm not amused." Ryo's facial features seemed to agree with the fact he wasn't amused, but Keith continued to be truthful.

"Specifically, we discovered an alien ship which took us out to Kerberos before jumping through a worm hole…" Keith watched _his_ eyes widen. "… where we came across a castle and a princess in cryostasis…"

"Akira…"

"… and we were asked to pilot these lions which form a giant robot…"

"This isn't funny." Ryo was getting pissed, but for some reason Keith found himself enjoying the reaction.

"…to defend the universe from evil aliens called the Galra."

"Let me guess. They're purple and furry."

Keith's eyes blinked, thinking that Ryo and he had finally come to some kind of understanding. "How'd you know?"

"Akira, I had to suffer through days of you watching over and over again that stupid movie _Purple People Eater,_ which Takashi-nii somehow managed to find for you. You've always _loved_ Gundam, you're nuts for anything cat related, and the first video game you ever played was Mario."

"My mom's Galra!" The reaction Keith expected was absolute anger, but instead, Ryo looked at him in utter horror.

"Akira..." The color kept slowly draining from Ryo's face.

"Go ahead and say what you always say! That if I really believe mother is an alien, that I'm no brother of yours! In case you've not figured out, I'm already resigned to the fact I'm _not_ a Shirogane and have no family ties to you."

"Of all the…" Ryo took a deep breath, his eyes closing as he pinched his nose.

"I get the fact _you_ don't believe me, but Shiro does. He's accepted it, and he's accepted me."

"Oh, I'm fully aware of the fact Takashi-nii's bought into your alien delusion, hook, line, and sinker." _He_ took a deep breath. "I'm honestly not sure what's worse, that this time this delusion of yours is finally going to get you places in the loony bin, or that our older brother actually believes that aliens were involved in sabotaging the Kerberos mission rather than one of the rebel factions aiming to set back the peaceful relations here on Earth."

"What?" Keith felt the corner of his mouth twitch up. "You actually think…"

Ryo glared at him, sending a cold shudder running down his spine. "You heard me. Rebel factions, not alien forces."

Something else clicked, and Keith found himself growing excited, his mind distracted by a very important detail. "Wait. You just said you know that Shiro believes everything I told you. That means you _know_ where he is? Where's Shiro?"

"Scratch that. We can chalk up Takashi-nii's mind set to PTSD due to what the rebel forces did to him, what with him missing an arm."

"Then you do know where he is!" Keith's entire posture changed, his entire body relaxing. Shiro had a way of making things okay.

"Akira! Are you even listening to me? I'm trying to tell you I'm far more worried about you getting stuck in…" Ryo paused, his hands clenching his knees tightly. "Wait. Is the reason why you came back here because you're looking for our older brother?"

"Yeah. We need him to form Voltron. You know, the giant robot formed from the lions I told you about."

To Keith's amusement, Ryo face palmed, letting out a groan. He couldn't help but smirk, remembering that – despite Ryo being a jerk – there was always an amusement to getting this particular reaction from him. "God, they really are going to stick you in the loony bin this time."

The smile on Keith's face fell. "I'm not crazy. I've got proof."

He began to turn, his hand reaching for his blade to show Ryo the proof he'd gotten while away. Ryo's voice drew him away. "Stop. I honestly don't care if you have proof or not." Keith froze, remembering how often Ryo shot him down about his mother being an alien. "You can't go around telling everyone what you just told me."

"Why not?"

"The fact you don't understand that is baffling."

"I'm just telling everyone the truth."

"I believe you do honestly believe that." Ryo took a deep breath. Keith watched _his_ hand reach up absentmindedly to tug at his clothing at his shoulder area. "Look. If I promise to take you to Shiro…"

"Why would you do that? You think I'm delusional, and you don't trust Lance."

"Would you stop talking and just listen!" Ryo snapped, making Keith's mouth clamp shut. "I said _you,_ not both of you for starters. And there is something I want from you before I take you to Shiro."

"I can't go without Lance."

"You have to."

"And what are you going to do if I continue to refuse to go without him."

"I'll have him arrested on kidnapping charges, and which of the two of us do you think the police are going to believe?"

Keith took a deep breath. "You. They'll believe you."

"Good. Then you're going to come with me, no questions, and do what I want?"

"Yes. I will."


	11. Looking Around

**Tattoo in the Sky  
** _ **Looking Around**_

He woke up in a very uncomfortable position. Specifically, someone left him sitting up against a wall, so his entire back managed to tense up while he was out cold, but his neck felt stiff from that, and also felt like someone had pinched his neck. Lance's eyes flickered open, a dry groan escaping his mouth. The blue paladin swallowed, his head turning painfully towards the living room area.

" _Where am I again?_ " Lance's eyes blinked again. "Oh yeah. _I'm in Shiro's place. Keith brought me here._ " Suddenly, the teen's eyes widened. "Wait. Keith?"

No answer came from anywhere else in the house. The lithe youth pushed himself up, letting out a yelp as he attempted to get up faster than his overly stiff body wanted to. Lance's throat tightened, the first memory of what occurred being Keith throwing up in the toilet. The blue paladin pushed himself forward, heading to the bathroom, only to find no sign of the red paladin.

He looked around, taking in the pictures of Keith, folding his arms across his chest, remembering Ryo had been there. "What was it that Ryo said?" The idea that Ryo looked like Keith flickered through his mind. " _No. Just my imagination._ "

He couldn't quite remember, and instead found himself distracted by the site of the calendar which was the both the wrong month and the wrong year. Lance recognized the month and date as the timeframe when the Kerberos mission failed. Pushing his lips together, he stepped over to the calendar on the side of the refrigerator, lifting up a page to see dates marked, likely in Shiro's handwriting.

A particular note on one of the months caught his attention. " _Keith & Ryo's B-Day._"

" _His real name is…"_ Suddenly, Lance remembered what Ryo said that he wanted to remember. " _… Akira Shirogane._ "

"Okay. So, I wasn't imaging things." The blue paladin took a deep breath, his mind now wondering why Keith – even Shiro for that matter – hadn't said anything. The idea that neither one trusted him hurt. Only, he remembered something Keith said.

" _Not that I don't trust you. Just, not your piloting._ "

Lance shook his head, finding himself even more confused. Letting out a sigh, he rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe Keith left a note somewhere?"

His blue eyes didn't look at the kitchen counters which obviously had nothing on them but instead darted towards the hallway which led to the bedrooms. Taking a deep breath, he stepped over to the door which led into Keith's room and flicked on the light yet again, allowing light to flood the room once more. Lance's mouth pushed together, the childish nature of the room still confusing him.

This time though, he found himself able to step in. A piece of paper was on the desk, drawing him over. His fingers, hoping Keith had managed to leave some kind of message letting him know where he'd gone, why he'd left him behind. " _Because you're just a…_ " What Lance saw at the top of the paper made his blood run cold. " the _seventh wheel._ " The teen swallowed. "Quiznack.

" _Why I'm a Waste of the Air I Breath"_

Lance thought his world completely shattered upon finding out Keith was actually Shiro's younger brother, but finding the piece of paper was, even more, earth shattering. " _No way. Why would someone who's as amazing as Keith have insecurities? It doesn't make any sense. I mean…_ "

Upon second look, the blue paladin could see it was more than one paper, each one folded in half. One side was meant as a place for Keith to list things he hated about himself. In the red paladin's handwriting, the first item read, " _nobody in the Shirogane family likes me except Shiro._ "

The blue paladin swallowed, remember how insistent Keith had been before coming to Shiro's place. " _I'm not a member of the Shirogane Family. I'm Keith Kogane. I don't need you of all people to tell me that of all things._ "

The teen felt his eyes narrowed, not understanding the situation. He did know that the left side was meant to write a counter to the negative things, yet Keith hadn't written anything in those spots. Instead, someone else had, as the handwriting was different. " _That's not true._ "

Lance's frown deepened, reading a few more lines.

" _Ryo, really, really, REALLY hates me._ "

" _I do not._ "

The blue paladin let out a sigh. "Keith, that's really some messed up relationship you have with your brother. Your twin for that matter."

" _I mess everything up._ "

" _I can't argue against that._ "

"Quiznack!" For a few seconds, he crumpled the paper. " _This isn't how siblings should act towards each other!_ "

" _I know things I shouldn't know._ " That sentence Keith wrote honestly confused Lance.

" _I'm not sure how to respond to that one Akira._ "

The piece of paper balled up, and the blue paladin chunked it into the trashcan. He glanced around, plopping into the desk chair, knowing full well that wasn't going to help him find Keith. He turned, looking at the strange bed on the floor, remembering he'd seen something similar to it in some of the Japanese shows his younger family members liked to watch.

However, his mind had noted the slept in appearance of the strange bed, and how it had not been made, but now Lance wondered if it hadn't been made recently, as he now noticed a gym bag near the bed, almost as if Ryo had been sleeping in the room. The blue paladin's fingers tightened around his pant legs, his mouth tightening.

" _You know. It doesn't matter that they didn't say something. Keith needs my help. I can't leave him with Ryo._ " The blue paladin pushed himself up from the chair, more determined to find something telling him where Keith had gone. Hands down that Ryo person was involved. Lance took one last spin in the chair, deciding nothing could be found that he specifically could use as a clue, and headed back into the regular living area.

There was no note, or at least he thought so. His eyes widened, catching a piece of paper on the counter, which would have been behind him as he was looking at the refrigerator, his eye having been drawn to that particular month and year. He walked over, hoping that Keith had managed to leave some kind of note before he left. A smile crossed his face.

" _Lance, Left with Ryo so you wouldn't go to jail. Keith._ "

"Quiznack." The smile left Lance's face, his fingers tapping the counter top. "Exactly what is that supposed to mean? You expect me to figure that out, Keith?" The blue paladin stood there, frowning. "Actually, yeah. He's still not figured out the team chair."

Taking a deep breath, Lance decided to look around, hoping to find something. He found himself in the entrance area. His eyes widened at seeing the pictures on the wall of Keith, his arms crossing. Keith seemed a tad camera shy in the pictures, but Shiro, on the other hand, lavished affection on his brother. There didn't seem to be any pictures of Ryo.

"Evil twin, huh." Lance felt his hands tightened, wondering if Ryo took issue with Keith because of favoritism, something he'd suspected before. " _If Ryo treats Keith the way I think he does, of course, Shiro's going to show favoritism. He's just…_ " The blue paladin swallowed. "An amazing big brother."

He couldn't help but feel guilty. The blue paladin never liked how close Keith was with Shiro, and yet things – the reasons why Shiro spent so much time with Keith – weren't what he thought. It also explained why Keith was so desperate to get Shiro back, why he didn't give up. " _And to think. I tried making him promise to give up on ever finding his brother…_ "

The blue paladin paused. "Wait. Keith said he was going to go and look for his family after everything is done. He's also part Galra. So…" Lance ruffled his hair. "Okay! So maybe there's a major reason why they don't say anything. I mean, that's so confusing! _"_ Taking a deep breath, Lance threw out his arms. "Seriously, where are you?" He pointed at one of the pictures of Keith. "I don't have that weird ESP thing like… you do."

The blue paladin frowned, knowing that he had more questions, yet prying felt wrong. Taking a deep breath, he sighed. "Okay. I get the fact it's a personal matter, so no more prying. I'm still going to find Keith, and get him away from that psychopath brother of his." Lance attempted to form a plan in his head, only to find himself unable to figure out a way to find the red paladin. "Quiznack."

The teen shoved his hands into his pockets, his eyes widening as he pulled a device out of his pocket. A smile cracked across his face, remembering exactly what he had there. "Thank you Pidge!"


	12. Pidgency Plan

**Tattoo in the Sky  
** _ **Pidgency Plan**_

In the long run, her actions had nothing to do with not trusting Keith.

Or at least, that's what Pidge kept telling herself as she put her plan into motion.

Whether she trusted Keith or not depended on what one meant by the trust.

For example, Pidge could trust Keith to protect the group, but never turn his back on them. She'd like to trust him not to let his emotions get the better of him, yet she knew quite well Keith wasn't always in control like he would like to be. She could still remember how he'd been the one who'd voiced the idea of leaving Allura behind, and as Lance noted, that came across as cold.

Somehow though, she'd come to realize Keith's mind didn't work the way everybody else's did, and the fact his mind worked in such an interesting way actually made him grow on her. Lance grew on her because his pure stupidity proved amusing due to the constant thought that a person shouldn't normally be like that, and with Hunk he was another intellect. Keith's mind though was a puzzle. Maybe it was the Galra in him, and yet she thought it might be something else.

She also noticed that while she never had issues distancing herself with the stupid humans, Keith seemed to crave affection, but didn't know how to approach the situation. This was a stark difference, where she found herself able to interact with her family with ease. Pidge simply hated stupid people, though Lance had grown on her for the sake of amusement purposes.

Keith…

It wasn't a lack of trust that led her to do what she did, but instead the fact she simply didn't want to lose him. The best way to describe their relationship in her mind was to equate it to that weird, awkward brothers she heard others talk about, but not awkward in the same way Matt was. And while he was older and sometimes felt like an older brother, other times he felt like a younger brother. In fact, he felt more like a younger brother more times than not.

And she definitely didn't trust the government that hid the truth about the Kerberos mission from everybody, blaming Shiro, let alone trust that things would go anywhere near as slowly as Keith wanted them to. Thus she came up with her contingency plan but worked on implementing it without Keith knowing. She'd not expected, however, for Lance to be going until after Keith let her know.

She fingered the contingency plan in her fingers, her lips pushing together.

"Keith, come here for a sec." It was a simple gesture, not one she was sure Keith would react well to, due to the fact as far as she knew he'd only ever been touched in such a manner by Shiro. The look on the face was that look he got when he thought she was mad at him, yet she proved him wrong by pulling him into a hug, his taller frame being pulled down slightly so she could slip the object from her fingers, and attach it to the underside of his collar where he wouldn't notice. "Just don't do anything stupid. Leave the idiot moves to Lance."

Lance, of course, complained that he hadn't gotten a hug, which was an annoyance as they really weren't that close, but then again – the blue paladin always seemed a tad jealous of Keith. She still hugged him, slipping another device, a different one into his hand, whispering into his ear. "I put a tracking device on Keith's collar."

"Wait… I don't think…"

Pidge sighed. "It's better when you don't think Lance."

That action had drawn Keith's attention, but thankfully he simply said she should stop teasing Lance. She dropped the two off from her Green Lion, with Hunk watching. He remained quiet until they arrived back at the bridge. Pidge saw Allura looking out at Earth."What was it you gave Lance?"

The green paladin startled, while Allura turned to look at her, making it all to evident that something was bothering the princess. Pidge sighed. "I gave Lance a tracking device."

"What ever for?" Allura turned fully, her hands touching the nearest console so she could lean on it if she so wished. The delicate way the princess touched the console reminded Pidge strongly of the fact – while she could be ladylike – she was never as ladylike as her mother wanted.

The green paladin sighed, looking up at the ceiling, wishing so many questions weren't being asked. Hunk's voice strained. "You're tracking Lance?"

"No. I gave Lance the ability to track Keith." Pidge watched the other two widen their eyes in surprise. "Look, it's not as if I gave Lance the only way to track Keith."

Allura cleared her throat, folding her arms across her chest. "I'm actually more concerned with the fact your tracking Keith."

"Don't you trust him?"

"I'm not the one you should be calling out for not trusting Keith." Pidge glared at Allura, still remembering that incident from a month ago. The red paladin had been quick to forgive, a little too quickly for Pidge's liking.

"I trust Keith!" Hunk blurted out.

"Pidge is referring to me. And I do trust him. Well…"

"See, you don't trust him."

"Why?" The yellow paladin seemed upset about this.

"He has his reasons for keeping the secrets he does!" Allura blurted out, catching Pidge off guard. "It's not my place, or yours to pry."

The green paladin watched the princess look to the ground, proceeding to push up her glasses in response. She brushed the statement aside, and instead hoped they would forget the fact she put a tracking device onto Keith. Hunk, however, wasn't about to let it go. "So, Allura's pretty much said she trusts Keith, but what about you?"

"Look. I simply trust things to not necessarily go the way Keith planned. Okay?"

"Then you sensed it too?" Allura piped up.

Pidge pushed up her glasses, feeling the confusion spread across her facial features. For someone who said she trusted Keith, this honestly sounded off. Hunk beat her to the question. "Sensed what?"

"That Keith doesn't think he'll be able to come back."

"What!" The yellow paladin's voice strained, the panic really beginning to set in now.

"Um, no." Pidge let out a sigh, pushing up her glasses. "Why do you think that?"

"I just… do."

"Seriously!" Hunk's hands bumped up and down in agitation. "What's with you two being so pessimistic! Pidge doesn't trust Keith's judgement."

"I never said that." The green paladin sighed.

"And Allura's got this idea that Keith's not coming back."

"Because there is something there on Earth that Keith thinks will prevent him from coming back to us if he gets too close to it." Allura's lips pushed together, glancing at the ground. "I really shouldn't have said anything. I really shouldn't have. I don't know how to explain why I know that, feel that, so please don't push. It's… as I said. Keith has his secrets, and his reasons for keeping them."

Pidge honestly didn't know what to think about that, but Hunk seemed keen on letting what Allura said go, as it was just as odd of a thing to say for him, though he did look at the princess as if she'd just creeped him out even more that she already had. "Back to the tracking device. Again, it's not that I don't trust Keith. Quiznack, even he doesn't trust the government if you think about it."

"Yeah, but they're going to look for a tracking device?"

"Are they? They didn't exactly expect a teenage girl to be hacking their computer system a year ago." Pidge sighed. "I also don't trust Lance _not_ to tick Keith off enough to make Keith take off on Lance. Other many different factors, including the fact he originally intended to go off on his own, trying to not get us involved despite the fact he should know full well he should be able to trust us."

"That…" Hunk frowned. "You think Keith doesn't trust us?"

"No. I mean, he's not really open to things like _secrets_." Pidge pointedly glared at Allura as she said the last word. "The issue is more of, he doesn't want us to get involved."

"That sounds like not trusting us." Hunk sighed.

"No. It sounds like he's trying to take everything on himself. It's one of his stupid emo things, where he's scared of letting people in kind of things." Pidge sighed. "The point is, if something goes wrong, even though he doesn't want us involved, we will be. Because we're his friends, and that's what friends do even though he doesn't quite get that yet. Got it?"

Hunk's eyes blinked, a smile spreading across his face. "Got it."

Allura let one eyebrow go up. "Well, if it's not needed, I'm glad I'm not you when he gets the wind of what you did. He's a very private person."

"Yeah. Says the one who pretty much blabbed something which may very well be a secret, A-lur-ra."


	13. The Caged Bird Doesn't Sing

**Tattoo in the Sky  
** _ **The Caged Bird Doesn't Sing**_

Going with Ryo didn't feel right. The red paladin couldn't shake the idea of not being able to trust _him,_ yet _he_ knew where Shiro was. In truth, Ryo had a way of forcing is hand, twisting things so that Keith couldn't get out of doing them. The entire Shirogane family was that way, controlling every aspect of one's life they could. There was no place on Earth to call home, but no place on Earth where he could feel the freedom he needed. Earth was instead a cage.

"Yes. I will."

Keith's mind wandered to the family estate, wondering if that was where Ryo was taking him. It actually made sense that they might lock Shiro up there, what with how protective the Shirogane family could get regarding family secrets. Or, in his case regarding family shames. It was the last place he wanted to go, the fear of being locked in a room with no way out without destroying things and making people even more displeased with him sitting at the back of his mind.

At least in the desert, there was nothing to destroy, but he could go where he pleased.

"So?"

The red paladin's head darted up. "What?"

"You said you will, but you're not budging."

"I need to write Lance a note."

"Why?" Ryo took a deep breath.

"I told you, he's my friend."

"Akira…" The tone of voice used, Keith definitely didn't like it. "He's not your friend."

"It's the right thing to do."

"Okay."

Keith's eyes widened, as he found himself a tad confused as to why Ryo gave in like that. He tilted his head in confusion, but then walked over to the pad on the refrigerator. Scribbling out the note made him feel better about the situation, even if it might not solve the problem. Glancing up, Ryo gave him that look, indicating he found the entire thing to be a nuisance. The red paladin glanced away, not liking the look one bit.

Ryo motioned for Keith to follow him, frowning still. The red paladin shoved his hands into his pocket, his eyes cast to the ground. They didn't have to go far before arriving at the nearby bus stop while Ryo fiddled with his phone, apparently looking up information about something. _He_ seemed nonplused by the entire situation, but then nothing ever bothered him, or so it seemed.

Getting onto the bus, that wasn't an enjoyable moment. At that particular time of the day, the bus was crowded, and Keith preferred being around fewer people. The fact Ryo showed up at the house, not to mention the shack – that honestly didn't help matters in regards to how Keith felt about the situation. His fingers wiggled in his pants pocket, still unable to figure out what exactly Ryo was up to. He sat next to his look alike, his eyes glued to the floor.

The person in question leaned slightly over, reaching for something inside the pocket of his jacket. A scraping sound of something coming out of a box was heard, and then Ryo spoke up. "Here."

Keith's eyes blinked, looking up to see the pocky offered to him. Ryo didn't look him in the eye, but the pocky stick stuck out of the packaging, tempting him to take it. Hesitantly, he took the stick, before letting himself crunch down onto the treat, closing his eyes as the taste melted on his tongue, remembering he'd not had the treat for well before Shiro left. A humming sound escaped his throat.

"Good."

The red paladin nearly chocked, realizing all to quickly that Ryo was being to nice. He removed the treat from his mouth instead of finishing it. "Why are you being nice to me?"

"Because I care."

Keith slunk down into his seat, letting air escape through his nostrils in annoyance. "Sure. Sure you do."

"And what? The people you've been hanging out care?"

"Certainly more than you do."

"Why are you always like this?" The sound Ryo made when something really annoyed him made Keith flinch. There was a moment of silence, and then Ryo glanced away. "You're always so stubborn."

Keith let his teeth break into the next part of the pocky stick with a resounding snap. "After everything, you did growing up, do you honestly think I'd trust you?'

"No." A silence fell between the two.

Eventually, Ryo's hand lifted up, hesitantly. Keith felt his entire body tense up, knowing that _he_ wanted to touch him. Worse, the bus was crowded, meaning if he lashed out at being touched, it would cause trouble. Slowly, Ryo's hand reached out, palm down, fingers spread, before finally resting his hand on Keith's knee, making the red paladin's entire body freeze up. Then came the light squeeze.

Then, after lingering for a few minutes, Ryo pulled that hand away, and Keith thought the touchy-feely and very out-of-character moments for Ryo were over. His body started to relax, only for _him_ to move quickly, _his_ arms wrapping around Keith's shoulders, making the red paladin's entire body tense up. Worse, Ryo pulled him in tight, _hugging_ him.

Keith literally choked, then reacted, shoving a sharp elbow into Ryo's ribs hard so that he would let go. _He_ let out a sound that indicated it hurt, as the red paladin choked out what he wanted to say. "What are you doing?"

"Your voice cracked." Ryo choked out.

"My voice cracked? That's your response?" Keith felt himself become even more frustrated.

"I'm glad you're finally home, okay?"

The red paladin titled his head, wanting to shake his head, but finding the resulting confusing in his head a bit shocking. "Home? This isn't my home. The Castle of Lions is." A thought passed his mind. " _With Allura._ "

"The _what_?" Ryo took a deep breath, shaking his head. "Never mind. I'm not sure I want to know."

"Yeah. That's always the way it's always been."

Ryo visibly flinched. "Excuse me?"

"You never want to know, and when you say you do, you always get annoyed with me." Keith watched Ryo look away, but caught the look of frustration on his face. "Just like you're getting annoyed with me right now."

"I am not." Ryo snapped. "Well, maybe just a little, but not for the reason's you think." Keith found himself staring at his look alike, the other's behavior confusing him. Of course, Ryo noticed. "What?"

"You're not acting like yourself. Well, there's some things like knocking Lance cold which are exactly like yourself, but…" The red paladin slumped again. "I don't know how to explain it."

"Maybe I just don't want to act the way I used to."

Keith froze, finding what Ryo said hard to believe, but he felt an ache in the middle of his back where his muscles tensed up at this comment. The rest of the trip was in silence except for the guy who got on before they got off with the obnoxious boombox. Getting off felt good, but the red paladin started to pop his muscles and stretch. Glancing over at Ryo though, his look-alike was simply to calm.

"This way."

Keith let out a sigh. "So, you're taking me to Shiro like you promised?"

"After you do what I want you to do. You do remember that, right?"

"Yeah. It wasn't very fair how you went about that, you know."

"It was completely fair," Ryo said.

"Yeah, so much for your claim that you're trying to change your ways." Keith found himself jarred as he ran into Ryo from behind. He watched as his look-alike turned on him.

"I'm honestly really trying Akira…"

"Keith…"

"Whatever. This is important. Super important."

"Then just tell me what it is."

"No. And you know why."

Keith took a deep breath, frustrated with the fact Ryo kept being as obstinate as he was. Thinking about it, the red paladin honestly didn't know why Ryo wouldn't want to tell him what they were going to be doing. Instead, he walked a couple of blocks behind Ryo before the other stopped.

The red paladin jammed his hands into his pockets, his mouth pushing together, watching Ryo carefully. Glancing around, they were in the oriental part of the city. Shiro had brought him to this section to visit the Japanese temple. Keith started to look around, towards the direction Ryo was now looking.

He felt his breath draw in sharply, confused as to why Ryo would bring him here of all places, before turning his head back sharply to look at Ryo. "A tattoo place? Are you kidding me?"

Ryo turned to look at him, his eyes dark. "When have you _ever_ known me to joke about something?"

"That…" Keith felt the color drain from his face."You… what are you up to?"

The other's face softened. "You honestly don't know?"

"Of course not! I think you're honestly insane!"

"Do you want to see Shiro or not?"

Keith's eyes closed, hating Ryo a lot right now.


End file.
